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David Sussman (61) BCom Executive chairman Appointed 1 April 1986. David Sussman is the founder and Executive Chairman of the JD Group. Under his leadership, the JD Group is the largest furniture retailer in Africa, and enjoys the highest rating in its sector on the JSE. Before forming the JD Group, David spent over a decade building his career at a variety of furniture retail companies, including Russells, Joshua Doore and World Furnishers, and founded his own company, Sustein (Pty) Ltd (trading as Price ‘n Pride) in 1983. In 1986, David persuaded the then Chairman of Rusfurn, Mervyn King, to sell Joshua Doore to Sustein (Pty) Ltd. At the time, Sustein had three Price ‘n Pride stores and the acquisition of Joshua Doore required that Sustein be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as Joshua Doore Limited. After further acquiring World Furnishers and Bradlows in 1988, the name of the listed company was changed to JD Group Limited. The JD Group has expanded over the years to include the acquisition of Profurn and Incredible Connection, as well as a 70% equity stake in Blake & Associates. In 2005, the JD Group launched Maravedi Financial Services, a financial services alliance with Absa Group and Thebe Investment Corporation, and recently, JD Financial Services division was launched with contact centres in Johannesburg and Durban. Under David’s guidance and leadership, the JD Group has been inspired to be world-class in its field of expertise” and is whole-heartedly committed to making a real difference through its 'Art of Service' culture.   2. Grattan Kirk (45) FCA, CA(SA) Chief executive officer Appointed 17 September 2007. Grattan was born and educated in Dublin, Ireland.  He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloittes in 1987 and transferred to their offices in Johannesburg in 1990.  He was appointed an Audit Partner in 1994.  He left Deloittes to take up the position of Financial Director of Connection Group Holdings Limited in 1997.  He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Connection Group Holdings Limited in 2003. After JD Group acquired Connection Group Holdings Limited in 2005, Grattan served as Chief Executive of the Cash Division, encompassing Hi-Fi Corporation and Incredible Connection as well as assuming responsibility for Abra, the Group’s International brand in Poland.  In May 2007, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Traditional and Cash Retail divisions.  He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the JD Group in June 2008.  Grattan has 13 years experience in auditing and 13 years experience in retail.   3. Richard Chauke (42) BCom (Hons), MCom (South African and International Tax), MTP (SA) Director: Transformation, Tax, Risk, Internal Audit and Compliance Appointed 17 September 2007. He Joined the Group in February 2006. He has 12 years' experience in auditing and taxation, four years' lecturing and three years' experience in retail.   4. Ian Thompson (41) BCom, BAcc, CA(SA) Director: Finance and Corporate Affairs Appointed 13 November 2008. Ian Joined the Group in November 1995. He has 12 years' experience in finance, corporate finance, auditing and taxation and six years' experience in retail.     6. Dr Henk Greeff (50) MEd (Ed Management) (cum laude), PhD, Programme in Strategic Transformation (USB), Programme in Strategic Change (Stanford, USA) Director: Strategy and Human Resources Appointed 17 September 2007. Eight years' experience in strategic management consulting in a diverse set of industry types. Led a number of large scale strategic programmes from design to successful implementation. Six years' experience in retail.     7. Bennie van Rooy (35) Hons BCom, CA(SA) Financial director Experience: three years in auditing and eight years in financial services, risk management and banking Appointed as the Financial director with effect from 1 May 2010 after joining the JD Group on 1 January 2010 as Group Financial Controller. After completing his articles at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2000, Bennie gained exposure to various financial services disciplines such as mergers and acquisitions, financial consulting and risk management. He joined the Absa Group in September 2005 where he specialised in credit risk management before being appointed as Head: Group Capital Management and Balance Sheet Optimisation in the Group Treasury function on 1 January 2007.