Jacobus Petrus “Koos” Bekker (born 14 December 1952) is chairman of leading emerging markets media group Naspers. The company operates in 130 countries and is listed on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges, and has the largest market capitalization of any media company outside the US and China.
Early life
Koos Bekker was born in South Africa on 14 December 1952. Bekker got his early education from Hoër Volkskool Heidelberg and degrees from Stellenbosch University in Law and Literature and Wits University in Law. During his studies in Stellenbosch he stayed in Eendrag Manskoshuis.
Career
After a few years in advertising he read an MBA degree at Columbia Business School, graduating in 1984. As a result of a project paper, he, and a few young colleagues founded one of the first two pay television services outside the US. M-Net and its sister companies like Multichoice eventually expanded to 48 countries across Africa. In the 1990s, he was a founding director of mobile communication company MTN. In 1997 Bekker became CEO of Naspers, one of the initial investors in the M-Net/Multichoice group. Naspers bought out the other shareholders. During his tenure, the market capitalization of Naspers grew from about $1,2 billion to $45 billion. His compensation package was unusual in that for fifteen years as CEO he earned no salary, bonus or perks. He was compensated solely via stock option grants that vested over time. The Babylonstoren estate in South Africa’s Western Cape region was designed by his wife Karen.
Foreign investments
Under Bekker, Naspers invested in pay television, mobile telephony and various internet services. Geographically the group spans Europe, Africa, Latin America, China, India, Russia and various smaller countries.
| Koos Bekker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 December 1952 South Africa |
| Residence | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Alma mater | Columbia Business School, NY |
| Occupation | Chair of Naspers |
| Net worth | $ 1.6 billion (March 2016) |
| Spouse(s) | Karen Roos |
| Children | 2 |
Source: