Since leaving the world of rugby, former Springbok captain Bob Skinstad has become a successful businessman with interests in South Africa, the UK and France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before starting his rugby career, Skinstad attended the prestigious Hilton College in KZN and Stellenbosch University, where he would captain the first team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite being born in Zimbabwe and eligible to play for Ireland via his Irish-born mother, Skinstad played for South Africa at all junior levels and would make his full international debut in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He played in the 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cups, winning the trophy in the latter tournament, while captaining the Springboks in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside of his international duties, the loose forward played for the Western Province, Lions, Sharks, Stormers, invitational-only Barbarians, and Newport Gwent Dragons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He retired from professional rugby shortly after the 2007 tournament, having won 42 caps for the Springboks, and moved into business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skinstad ventured into sports management, co-founding the company Esportif. He also worked as a rugby analyst and commentator for various media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He would become a Director at Itec Innovate, a company specialising in print, security, and communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2013 to 2016, he was the Chief Marketing Officer at Seartec, a distributor of top Office Automation brands in South Africa. His role was managing new business, team culture, and sustainability with clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2013, Wesgro named him an Ambassador for the Overstrand region, including Gansbaai, Hangklip-Kleinmond, Hermanus and Stanford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He would also become the chairman of the South African chapter of the Rugby Business Network, where members would help each other at networking events worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2015, he was the co-founder and venture partner in KNF Ventures, a SARS Section 12J Venture Capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It helped qualifying investors to claim amounts invested as a full and permanent deduction from taxable income. It focused on South African innovation-driven SMEs to generate enhanced returns for investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two years later, he became a partner at Knife Capital, the parent company of KNF Ventures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company specialises in growth equity investments, focusing on innovation-driven ventures with a proven track record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2016 to 2021, he was also a partner of DRAPER-GAIN Investments, a UK-based investment company with a particular focus on Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2021 to 2024, he was also a strategic advisor at CrowdIQ, a company that used gigapixel photography and computers to quantify the composition and behaviour of crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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