Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is responsible for addressing governance matters and strategic issues, and is accountable to the Agbiz Council. The Council met regularly to provide mandates for positions on a range of policy matters and issues.
PG Strauss began his business career when he joined ABSA Bank in 2001. While at ABSA, he co-founded BFAP. After completing his PhD, he joined SABMiller, where he was responsible for global sourcing and supply management across the group.
In 2013, he joined the VKB Group to support the start-up of several new ventures. In 2016, he co-founded Value Chain Solutions, which focused on supporting various South African and multinational companies to improve sourcing and supply chain functions from an end-to-end perspective.
In 2021, he rejoined the VKB Group, where he currently serves as Group CEO. The VKB Group has a presence across South Africa and internationally, operating throughout the agricultural and food value chain.
Dr Lukeshni Chetty is the Chief Executive Officer of the South African National Seed Organisation (SANSOR). She obtained her PhD in Genetics from the University of the Free State and has received numerous academic awards and industry scholarships throughout her career.
In 2008, she was appointed Deputy Director: GMO Monitoring and Research at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, where she was responsible for developing South Africa's post-commercial GMO monitoring framework.
At SANSOR, she is responsible for the organisation's overall strategic objectives, including capacity development in the seed sector, intellectual property protection, and policy development that supports innovation and global seed trade initiatives. She also represents the interests of the South African seed industry nationally and internationally on all matters relating to seed trade.
She has served on the Board of the International Seed Federation since 2022 and served on the Board of the South African Cultivar and Technology Agency (SACTA) from 2017 to 2026. She also serves as Deputy Chairperson of the Agbiz Steering Committee.
In recognition of her exceptional leadership and contribution to the seed sector, she received the International Seed Federation (ISF) Honorary Lifetime Membership Award in Lisbon in May 2026.
Francois Swanepoel was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sentraal-Suid Co-operative Ltd at the beginning of 2022.
He began his career at Suidwes Landbou in 1997, after which he joined PLK Landbou as a Senior Accountant and was later appointed Financial Manager at Boland Agri. Following the amalgamation of Boland Agri and WPK, he held various positions, including Group Manager: Information Technology.
In 2008, he was appointed General Manager: Retail and Mechanisation, a position he held until 2015, when he joined the VKB Group as Executive Director: Free State. In 2019, he was appointed Executive Director: Commercial.
Francois holds a BCom in Accounting, a BCom Honours in Management Accounting, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), all obtained from North-West University.
Before being appointed Chief Executive Officer of Agbiz in January 2022, Theo Boshoff headed the Legal Intelligence desk at Agbiz for five years, following four years with Agri SA in organised agriculture.
Under the leadership of former Agbiz CEO Dr John Purchase, Theo formed part of the Agbiz team that served as a liaison between the agricultural industry and various government departments to develop policy and legislation affecting the sector. His areas of expertise include land reform and property rights, natural resource legislation, commercial and competition law, and the regulatory environment affecting both the primary and secondary agricultural sectors.
Theo has represented agribusiness on several national platforms, including the AgriBEE Charter Council, Operation Phakisa and Nedlac's Development Chamber. He has participated in numerous legislative processes at Nedlac and was responsible for coordinating the agricultural sector's projects at the Jobs Summit, among other initiatives.
He holds an LLM in Constitutional Property Law (cum laude) from North-West University, an LLB (cum laude), and an MPhil in Wildlife Management from the University of Pretoria. He is currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Management through North-West University's Business School.
Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele holds a veterinary degree, a certificate in embryo transfer, a diploma in management studies, and a Master of Business Administration. His career spans academia, business and government.
He served as a Senior Lecturer at North-West University from 1996 to 1999 before joining the North West Department of Agriculture. In 2003, he transferred to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF). He left DAFF in 2006 before returning in 2008 as Director: Food Safety and Quality Assurance (FSQA). He subsequently served as Minister Counsellor in Brussels and later as Director: Biosecurity.
Throughout his career, he has also held the positions of Manager at DAFF, General Manager at Bytes Specialised Solutions, and Acting Chief Executive Officer of Onderstepoort Biological Products. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa.
Dr Ntshabele has represented the Department of Agriculture as a board member of the Faculty Advisory Board of the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort, the Wine and Spirit Board, and Onderstepoort Biological Products. He also served on the PPS Holdings Trust Board.
He served on the South African Veterinary Council and was its President from August 2013 to 2015. He was appointed as an Extraordinary Lecturer in the Unit for Veterinary Public Health (which incorporates Food Safety) at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria. He has presented at numerous conferences on food safety, food safety legislation, and veterinary legislation for food safety on behalf of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
Outside of his professional career, Dr Ntshabele is an avid runner who has completed numerous marathons and ultra-marathons. He is also a keen golfer and enjoys reading.
Dr Tobias Doyer is responsible for the strategic management and leadership of the Grain SA Group. Grain SA is a respected farmers' organisation within the South African agricultural industry and the broader business environment. Its vision is to promote sustainable and profitable local grain farming that contributes to a globally competitive and inclusive grain value chain, develops rural economies, ensures food security, and creates decent and inclusive employment.
Grain SA represents a wide range of crops, including maize, wheat, soybeans, canola, sunflower, sorghum, barley, and groundnuts. NAMPO Harvest Day, NAMPO Cape and NAMPO Alpha are among the flagship exhibitions hosted by Grain SA, where farmers and suppliers engage on the latest technologies and trends in the agricultural sector.
In addition, the Grain SA Research Trust coordinates essential grain research, encouraging collaboration and innovation. Grain SA's farmer development programme is delivered through Phahama Grain Phakama NPC, which empowers active grain farmers through technology adoption and best practices to ensure their long-term success.
Dr Doyer studied Agricultural and Development Economics at Ghent University in Belgium and the University of Pretoria, where he also obtained his PhD. He previously lectured at the University of Pretoria, served as CEO of Agbiz, established Santam Agriculture, served as Head: Broker Services North at Santam, was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Africa in Lusaka, Zambia, and later Regional and Operational Execution Executive for Southern and Eastern Africa at Sanlam.
He is married to Ilse and they have four children.