Our leadership team

Frans is an admitted Advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa (Western Cape Sector), a diplomat (representing South Africa at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva from 1973 to 1977 – during 1976 as acting ambassador), a businessman (managing director of Stellenbosch Farmers Winery from 1990 to 2000) and keen conservationist, having worked closely with Dr. Anton Rupert for nearly three decades. He was CEO of WWF-SA, a founder member of the Peace Parks Foundation, a founder trustee of the SA National Parks Trust and an international board member of the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Johannes is a composer, poet and entrepreneur. He studied music, languages and philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch, where he won various first prizes in composition. Prior to founding Humanstate with his brother Jaco in 2001, Johannes built a marketing and distribution business with a presence in more than 16 countries, co-founded a leading contemporary music organisation, and worked as a music journalist at the University of South Africa.

Benoît Merkt is a Swiss lawyer admitted to the Bar of Geneva. He holds a doctorate in law and a Master in European and Comparative Law (MJur) of Oxford University. Since 2006, Benoît Merkt is a partner of the Swiss law firm Lenz & Staehelin of which he is co-head of the Competition law practice group and head of the Foundations / Philanthropy practice groups. He is recognized as a leading Swiss law practitioner and is a regular speaker at conferences and author of several publications and books in the fields of competition law and foundation law, as well as being a member of Legal Council of SwissFoundations.

Eduard is a chartered management accountant. He completed his training at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and worked in various industries covering financial services, retail and construction. As CFO, Eduard played a key role in setting up the UK financial operations of a large financial services group. As well as comprehensive experience in setting up and overseeing finance functions with sound financial control, Eduard has core knowledge in dealing with UK - and EU - regulated entities, including the preparation and submission of licence applications. Eduard is based in Sevenoaks, United Kingdom.

Stephan currently serves as one of the founders and the president of the board of the National Christian Foundation of South Florida. He also manages his own small boutique consulting firm, The Caleb Group, specializing in assisting select non-profits and for-profits with comprehensive project management, from idea through implementation phases. Stephan also serves on the board of directors of OneHope, National Christian Foundation of South Florida, Sharable, and Cimarron Insurance Company. He comes from an interesting heritage, born as the eldest grandchild of the Reverend Dr. Billy Graham.

Edward is a London-based corporate law partner at Osborne Clarke LLP. Aside from acting for global corporates, founders and their businesses and private capital on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, Edward is a social impact angel investor.