Directors & Management

Board of Directors

James Aling – Chairman

James studied at Stellenbosch (1982-84) where he received a B. Agric Admin degree in agricultural economics and management. Post graduate studies included a B.Comm Hons at Wits while in Johannesburg at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) (1986-87) and later a M.Sc. in agricultural economics at Michigan State University in the USA (1990-1991).

He started of working in agricultural and rural development first at the DBSA and then KwaZulu Finance Corporation in Durban as an economist and project manager before joining HL Hall and Sons in 1994. After starting in the marketing division of the Fresh Produce business, he them moved across to the property business of the Halls Group where he was involved for 23 years developing the business until February 2018. Upon leaving Halls Properties, James purchased a business that had been set up in Halls Properties to manage the Riverside node, Spaces Places & Partnerships, which is an urban management and partnership company that establishes and manages City Improvement Districts (CIDs). Throughout James’ time with Halls Properties and afterwards, he has been involved with Selati and the Big Five Game Company from the early inception and formative years through to more recently (last 4 years) by being directly involved on the Board. His long period of involvement has provided James with a really good understanding and insight into the Reserve, its members and the operations of the Big Five Game Company, including being involved in the recent shift in strategy to develop the reserve’s eco-tourism commercial offering. James also serves on a number of other Boards and collective initiatives / associations.

Alan du Toit – Vice Chairman

Alan is an owner on the reserve who has served on the Selati Board of Directors for many years. He is a current Exco member at Selati and the Chairman of the Selati Wilderness Foundation. Alan graduated with B.Sc Honours in Geology and Geophysics and is a conservationist.

Kuen Pappas

Kuen is a qualified Chartered Accountant with a passion for the wilderness. He has been involved with Selati since 2005 and become a landowner in 2022. He has an agricultural background and was born and bred in the Lowveld. Kuens family produce and distribute the highly effective Bat Hawk aircraft used in conservation throughout Africa with strong ties to significant role players in the industry.

John Williams

After successful stints at both the University of Stellenbosch and the University of Cape Town, John qualified as a CA (SA) at KPMG, where he worked in a variety of roles in both South Africa and England. John joined Lightstone in January 2011 where he was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer. In 2016, John took up a position in the HL Hall and Sons group to drive strategy and governance.

John’s portfolio has since expanded and he is now Head of Group Finance for the HL Hall and Sons group. John has a passion for education, and has played an active role in the Thandulwazi Trust, a charitable organisation focused on Maths and Science education for the previously disadvantaged. John’s other passions centre around sport, including long distance running and golf. John is married and has twins, who keep him young at heart.

Marié Oosthuisen

Marié Oosthuizen has been a member of the Selati Game Reserve since 1995. With a BSc in Computer Science and Mathematical Statistics (Unisa, 1976) and an MBA (University of Pretoria, 1993), Marié’s qualifications reflect her passion for continuous growth. Over her 35-year career at the University of Pretoria, she worked in various departments including IT, institutional research and planning, investments, and finance. Her journey also took her to Cambridge University in the UK for five enriching years. Her hobbies include birding and genealogy, and she has a love for all living creatures.

Anton Wood

Anton is the owner of Matumi Fresh Logistics based in Kiepersol (Hazyview), which was started in 1995. They specialise in the distribution of fresh produce to the Lodge industry and transport fresh produce countrywide, as well as cross border. His ultimate goal is to expand the company into the agricultural field to be able to give clients the best fresh quality direct. He believes his personal biggest achievement was to be in the fortunate position to acquire a piece of heaven in Selati.

Brian van Aswegen

Brian van Aswegen, has been involved in the Selati Game Reserve since 2012 when he married into the Joubert Family. Brian obtained a degree in Zoology from Rhodes University and an honours degree in Conservation Ecology from Wits University in 2007 after which he gained experience as a Field Guide at many of the well-known game reserves in the Greater Kruger National Park region. In 2010 Brian co-founded and established a successful business in Gauteng, which temporarily kept him out of the conservation space. In 2020, during the COVID 19 pandemic, Brian’s passion was reignited when he founded a conservation based NPO, Conserv Earth, to demonstrate that the successful connection between conservation areas, the communities that surround these areas and the private sector, is pivotal to the sustainable preservation of key conservation areas and to the improvement of people’s livelihoods.

Management Team

Dave Robertson

General Manager

With over 30 years of experience in reserves and national parks throughout Southern Africa, Dave brings a wealth of knowledge to the role of General Manager. He earned his BSc Agriculture Degree from Pietermartizburg University, majoring in Zoology and Grassland Science. Dave’s career began with Natal Parks Board (now Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife), where he served in various capacities including APU Ranger, Section Ranger, and Conservation Manager for iMfolozi and uMkhuze Game Reserves.

Following his tenure at Zululand Rhino Reserve (now Manyoni Game Reserve), Dave pursued his passion for working in big open systems in other African countries. In 2015, he joined African Parks as Field Operations Manager at Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia, later moving to Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve and Liwonde National Park in Malawi. Dave is accompanied by his wife, Erika, and their three labradors; Tombi, Ceilidh and Lili.

Nicolene Rossouw

Operations Manager

Nicolene received her Honours degree in Communication Pathology and worked as an audiologist in both England and South Africa for over 25 years. In 2006 she followed her passion for the ocean and became a scuba diving instructor, which led her to the shores of the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique, where she worked as activities manager for a number of years, until she returned to audiology as the Export Manager for an audiology wholesale company, with Sub-Sahara Africa as her focus. Having grown up in the Kruger National Park, Nicolene however always longed to return to the Lowveld and the bushveld and this dream became a reality when she joined Selati in December 2023, where she is responsible for the day-to-day financial administration, human resources, governance and administration.

Beth Coetzee

Marketing Manager

A self-taught marketer with an Honours degree in Zoology with Conservation, Beth had a dream of somehow integrating her two passions and longed to be back in the bush after most recently working as the Director of Marketing at a private school. Beth also holds her FGASA Level 2 qualification. She is responsible for marketing and reservations at Selati. 

Steve Seager

Wildlife Manager

Following his childhood dream, Steve has been working on Selati since 2014, where he was responsible for monitoring Selati’s key species.

With a BSc in International Wildlife Biology and a fierce passion for wildlife and conservation ecology, Steve was brought in to setup and manage Selati Research, a conservation research orientated volunteer programme that aims to collect meaningful data on Selati’s diverse fauna and flora. In 2019, Steve accepted the offered position of wildlife manager with the responsibility of managing Selati’s wildlife assets.

Madeline Siegel

Research Coordinator
and Field Guide

Madeline oversees ongoing ecological data collection and conducts the monitoring of key species. She is also a guide for the Research Department’s Volunteer Programme.

Prior to joining the Selati Research team in 2019, Madeline worked as a lab and field technician for a loggerhead sea turtle conservation genetics lab in Athens, USA, and spent 6-months with EcoTraining, where she received her FGASA Level 1 Field Guide and Back-up Trails Guide qualifications. Madeline was born and raised in Atlanta, USA, and graduated from The University of Georgia with a BSc in Wildlife Biology before moving to South Africa in 2018.