The fearless Springbok flanker who now runs South Africa’s top security company

·22 Apr 2025

Wahl Bartmann is the CEO of Fidelity, South Africa’s largest private security company. Before his corporate career, he was a fearless flanker for the Natal Sharks and Springboks.

Wahl Justice Bartmann was born on 13 June 1963 in Florida, Gauteng. He attended primary and high school in the suburb and matriculated from Hoërskool Florida in 1981.

He was a standout rugby player during his younger years and represented the South African Schools team in 1981.

In 1982, he enrolled at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), now known as the University of Johannesburg, and debuted for Transvaal when he was nineteen.

Wahl Bartmann became one of only a few players that wore the Transvaal colours at primary school, high school, under 21 and senior levels.

In the eighties, he was such a force in the Transvaal Rugby Union that it unofficially became known as TransWahl.

The Transvaal Rugby Union won the Lion Cup twice, in 1986 and 1987, and played in two Currie Cup finals during the same seasons.

He was a member of the 1986 Transvaal side that beat the New Zealand Cavaliers a week after he wore the World XV colours against his Transvaal side at Ellis Park.

He later played for Natal and captained the team 45 times. With Bartmann’s help, Natal won the prestigious Currie Cup in 1990 and 1992.

“I played some of my best rugby at Natal under Ian McIntosh during the early nineties,” Bartmann told Front Row Rugby.

In 1986, Bartmann made his test debut for the Springboks against the visiting New Zealand Cavaliers at Newlands in Cape Town.

After South Africa was readmitted to international rugby, he played for the Springboks against the All Blacks at Ellis Park and the Wallabies at Newlands.

He was part of the Springbok rugby team that toured to Argentina in 1993 and to New Zealand in 1994. However, he did not play any matches on these tours.

Bartmann was voted South Africa’s rugby player of the year for two consecutive years, 1990 and 1991.

He played eight test matches for the Springbok team, 79 for the Sharks and 93 games for the Lions, making him one of the most capped players of all time.

He was known as a fearless flanker. He was tough as nails, loved by his teammates, and feared by his opposition.

“Wahl Bartmann had something of Clark Kent and Superman in him,” McIntosh said. “On the field, he was Superman, but off the field, he was a soft accountant-type”.

Wahl Bartmann joins Fidelity Services Group

Wahl Bartmann’s father, Mick, started Springbok Patrols in 1963. He said all the children worked in the business from a young age.

“During the holidays, including the December festive season, when everyone went on holiday, we worked,” Bartmann told Jacaranda FM.

After Bartmann’s rugby career ended, he joined the family business full-time. With a B.Juris (Law) from RAU, he was well-positioned for the security business.

Under his leadership as chief executive, Springbok Patrols became Fidelity Services Group, Southern Africa’s largest integrated security solutions provider.

In 1999, Fidelity concluded the first black economic empowerment deal in the security industry and became known as Khulani Springbok Patrols.

This was later sold to Fidelity, becoming Fidelity Security Services. In 2017, he grasped the opportunity to acquire ADT Security South Africa from Tyco, forming Fidelity ADT.

This acquisition allowed Fidelity ADT to provide a complete integrated security solution for its customers across the residential, commercial, and public sector markets.

The transaction included all of ADT South Africa’s residential and commercial services and operations, including the ADT Kusela guarding business.

To round off the offering, Bartmann acquired the Protea Coin business in the cash-in-transit space, becoming the biggest integrated security provider in the country.

Fidelity Services Group has 58,000 staff members in over 160 points of contact and depots across South Africa.

Whereas many security companies only respond to crime incidents, Fidelity proactively works to mitigate crime in the communities in which it operates.

The company also offers a tactical helicopter support unit and a canine unit that provide additional support to our teams in the field.

Although the business has grown, Bartmann still considers it a family and said he is proud of every employee’s contribution to success.

In addition to his position as the chief executive of the Fidelity Services Group, Bartmann is also the President of the South African National Security Employers’ Association (SANSEA).