Private higher education investment company Stadio Holdings announced an Monday that its CEO, Dr Chris van der Merwe, will step down at the end of March 2020.
He will be replaced by Chris Vorster, the founder and CEO of the Southern Business School. Vorster will take over from Van der Merwe on April 1, 2020. The group said Vorster has a "vast understanding of the higher education domain".
In an update to shareholders, Stadio, which currently caters to over 31 000 private students across a number of institutions, said Van der Merwe would continue to serve as a non-executive director on its board. He will also continue to advise and support the company, specifically on the development of the two campuses in Centurion and Durbanville, as well as investigating the potential establishment of a medical faculty.
In October Stadio announced that it had entered into an agreement to buy 5.2 ha of land for R110m in Centurion to build a 4 000-person "multiversity" which it hopes will open in 2021.
Stadio began as a subsidiary of Curro Holdings. Van der Merwe is the founder of Curro and served as its CEO since 1999.