14 March 2024

The Venue at the Houghton Hotel

Lloys Ellis Ave, Houghton Estate,

Johannesburg

 

Meet The Speakers

Manny de Canha

Chairman C2 Technologies Group, and industry icon.

Industry Icon, Manny is a motorman through and through. During his 24-year career in Associated Motor Holdings, he successfully managed the exclusive importation and distribution of Hyundai, Renault, Kia, Mitsubishi, Tata and other brands, building the company into the largest vehicle importer in the Southern Hemisphere. Retiring from the group in 2019 he acquired several entities from Motus Holdings Limited and formed the C2 Group consisting of 17 technology and innovation-based companies.

Robert Forrester

CEO Vertu Motors Group UK

Robert founded the Vertu Motors group in 2006 and last year it became the 7th largest dealer group in Europe, managing 34 OEM brands through over 190 sales outlets. He stands as the driving force behind an automotive retail powerhouse that consistently delivers an exceptional experience to its customers. Robert is passionate about people, processes, data and finding efficiency through digitalisation in a world where the dealership remains critical to the transaction.

Johann Theart

General Manager:Marketing Planning, Toyota South Africa

Johann has been with TSAM for over 18 years and has held several key leadership positions across multiple divisions within the organisation. His experience across product markets and various retail channels including dealer, rental, government, tender and fleet provide him with the insights to address the NEV market in South Africa.

Dr Christian Richter

Director of Global Automotive & Automotive Retail at Google

Based in Munich Germany, Christian Richter is leading the GCAS automotive vertical at Google, including a global team specialising in automotive retail advertising solutions. This encompasses the development of globally scaling advertising and sales solutions for automotive OEMs, their dealers, and their partner ecosystems. Christian earned his doctoral degree at the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and his Business Degree at the University of Bayreuth.

Pieter Potgieter

Chief Compliance and Information Security Officer - Britehouse Automotive

Pieter is a 33-year veteran of the IT industry and a specialist in information security, software development and enterprise integration. He has worked for global software firms like Microsoft and SAP. He currently oversees compliance and information security for Britehouse Automotive and focuses on helping employees, dealerships and partners keep their information safe.