Experience
Marcel joined HCI as chairman in 1997. Prior to this he was a Member of Parliament and Deputy General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers. He is also chief executive officer of e.tv, chairman of Johnnic Holdings Limited, and holds directorship in numerous companies.
HCI Background
Ten years ago HCI became the largest trade union-controlled investment company on the JSE Limited (JSE) when the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) and the National Union of Mine Workers (NUM) acquired control by reversing their investment company assets into HCI shares. Controlled and managed by trade unionists, HCI was a novelty on the exchange. Since then, much has changed. When the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) (NUM’s investment company) decided to sell its interest in HCI and go its separate way, SACTWU and HCI management concentrated their shareholding to become the major shareholders of the company.
Over the last five years, HCI’s investment strategy has tended to seek controlling interests in most of its assets. This strategy has allowed HCI to consolidate its position in a number of key industries and become the key point of reference for the management of its subsidiaries.
HCI has invested in a number of start-up businesses ranging from Vukani through to YFM and e.tv. Likewise, HCI has become involved in several businesses in serious need of restructuring such as Tylon, Formex and Clover.
Over time, HCI has endeavoured to ensure that its business play a positive role beyond profit-making. Promoting social good, as an aspect of our work, has become an increasingly important feature of our business. Partly, this commitment has been realised by our main shareholder developing a social programme for its members, their families and the communities in which they live. To date their investments have allowed them to fund some R100m. It has also been achieved by HCI developing a separate capital base of some R400m for the HCI Foundation that has allowed HCI to contribute to philanthropic projects at a higher level than its own size might normally sustain.
HCI’s current investments include Tsogo Sun (including the Southern Sun Hotel Group), e.tv, Vukani, Seardel, Montauk Energy Capital and HCI Coal.