South Africa’s most valuable company gets new finance chief

Nico Marais has taken over as the permanent Chief Financial Officer of Naspers and Prosus with immediate effect.

Marius, 51, received unanimous support from the group’s board to take up the role permanently, after taking over as interim CFO in December 2024.

He has over 25 years of extensive experience in financial management within the group, and previously worked as the General Manager of Finance.

He played a pivotal role in several key initiatives, such as Prosus’s successful listing, the unwinding of the cross holdings, the execution of the current open-ended share repurchases, and Prosus’ debt capital market activities.

He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant with an accounting degree from Stellenbosch University.

Subject to shareholder approval, he will immediately join the Naspers board as the financial director and will join the Prosus board following the AGM in August 2025.

“On behalf of the Boards of Prosus and Naspers, I am delighted to confirm the appointment of Nico as Group CFO on a permanent basis,” said Chairman Koos Bekker.

“He brings invaluable expertise and experience to the role, which he has built up over more than two decades with the group.

“The strong working relationship he has developed with our CEO, Fabricio Bloisi, puts us in good stead as we look ahead with excitement to the next phase of our growth journey”.

Marius’ remuneration will be disclosed in the 2025 Prosus annual report, expected to be published on roughly 23 June 2025.

Naspers is South Africa’s largest company, with a market cap of R810 billion. Prosus, created to house Naspers’ international assets, is worth over R2 trillion.