Team

Meet the team

The Rockwood team has been deliberately constructed to contain individuals from diverse backgrounds but with extensive experience in their respective disciplines pertaining to private equity.

Andrew Dewar

Managing Partner
Andrew holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Accounting degree from the University of Witwatersrand and is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Andrew joined the Investment team in May 2006 as Principal and is now the Managing Partner of Rockwood.

Since joining, Andy has been extensively involved in sourcing and executing investments. He serves on the board of Enviroserv.

Prior to this, he was a partner at KPMG where he was involved with the Transaction Services Team.

Gareth Druce

Partner
Gareth holds a Bachelor of Science Honors degree in Business Economics and Accounting from the University of Southhampton and is a member of the England and Wales Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Gareth joined the company in 2008 and is responsible for operational and financial matters as well as investor relations.

Since joining, Gareth has been extensively involved in portfolio management and valuations. He serves on the board of Kwikspace.

Gareth became a Chartered Accountant at KPMG in London in 1996, before moving to South Africa in 1997, specialising in Corporate Finance at KPMG Johannesburg. He joined BHP Billiton in 2000 and was the Manager for Corporate Finance, South Africa and subsequently worked in their Business Economics and Evaluation team. In 2003 Gareth set up and managed a number of small businesses before rejoining KPMG in 2005 as the Head of Business Development: Tax and Legal, focusing on the Private Equity clients of the firm. Prior to joining Absa Capital Private Equity Gareth was the COO of the Private Equity Group of KPMG in South Africa.

Peter Mason

Partner
Peter holds Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Natal Pietermaritzburg, a Diploma in Advanced Banking from RAU and is an admitted attorney.

Peter joined Rockwood in 2015 in the role of Counsel. Prior to that he was a director in the Banking and Finance Department of Werksmans Attorneys. Before joining Werksmans in late 2013, Peter was a Managing Director and General Counsel of Absa Capital Corporate and Investment Banking Division across Africa. At Absa he was a member of the Investment Banking Executive Committee and the Africa Legal Executive Committee. He advised the bank as lead counsel on many funding, private equity and debt restructure transactions.

Prior to Absa Peter held various senior positions in the Nedbank Corporate Banking division and in Nedbank Capital. He embarked on a banking career after serving as a director for a number of years in the Johannesburg based commercial law firm Jowell Glyn and Marais.

Naseem Hassan

Portfolio Manager
Naseem holds a Postgraduate Bachelor of Commerce Honors degree from the University of Johannesburg. He completed his MBA at WITS Business School, where he was placed on the Dean’s list. He is a member of South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. Naseem is a CFA level 3 candidate.

Naseem joined the team in 2016 as a portfolio manager. He will be assisting the partners across the portfolio and serves on the board of Bravo.

Prior to joining Rockwood Naseem spent 5 years at BHP Billiton and South 32 as an investment and valuation specialist. He was responsible for financial valuations, financial modelling and investment analysis supporting strategic decision making at BHP Billiton’s South African businesses.

Prior to joining BHP Billiton, Naseem was a senior manager at KPMG Corporate Finance, within the M&A equity capital markets team. He was responsible for financial valuations, M&A, JSE transaction advisory and capital raisings. He contributed towards business development of the equity capital markets team and gained the JSE approved executive accreditation. Prior to KPMG Naseem spent time at Merchantec Capital as a corporate finance analyst where he gained experience in capital raisings, new listings onto the JSE and financial valuations.

Susan Rose

Portfolio Manager and ESG Officer
Susan holds a Bachelor of Business Science, Finance Honours degree from the University of Cape Town.

Susan joined Rockwood in 2014 as the ESG and Compliance Officer.

Susan manages ESG at the portfolio companies, is regularly engaged with the HarbourVest and Coller Capitals ESG teams and participates in a number of ESG and Impact working groups. In 2017 Susan took on the added responsibility of portfolio manager and has assisted with various value add initiatives across the portfolio. She currently sits on the board of Kwikspace and chairs the Kwikspace Social and Ethics Committee. Susan was promoted to Principle in February 2021.

Anita Lindeque

Personal Assistant
Anita has been part of the Private Equity team since 2008. She is the personal assistant for the team and helps to ensure the business runs smoothly.

Anita has worked in the financial industry for 20 years, gaining most of her experience in Corporate Finance and Private Equity. Anita was the personal assistant to the head of Corporate Finance at ABSA Capital, Tommy Edmond and then Craig Brewer, for 13 years.

Nanda Kunene

Personal Assistant
Nanda has been part of the Private Equity team since 2005. She is the team admin assistant.

Nanda has worked in the financial industry for 9 years, most of her experience in Private Equity.

Leslie van Niekerk

Deal Executive and Portfolio Manager
Leslie holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Science, a Finance and Accounting Honours degree from the University of Cape Town.

Leslie joined the team in 2021. Her position at Rockwood is as a deal executive and portfolio manager.

Prior to joining Rockwood, Leslie worked as a Corporate Finance advisor in PwC’s M&A and Valuations teams. She executed transactions for public, private, and family-owned enterprises across industries including logistics, manufacturing, and agriculture. Leslie’s experience includes managing cross-border transactions, building transaction models, negotiating deal parameters, and originating international consumer and healthcare deals for South African investors.

Since joining Rockwood, Leslie has been extensively involved in the portfolio management of Global Roofing Solutions and Prominent Paints. She has also served as a member on the Audit and Risk and Social and Ethics Committees.