Grant Pattison (CEO of Massmart Holdings Limited)

Massmart is a South African-based international management group invested in a diverse but complementary portfolio of wholesale and retail formats. The trading operations are characterised by a focus on high volumes and operational excellence.

Massmart was founded in 1990 on the back of successful trading by the Makro group, then consisting of six wholesalers, with a turnover that year of R895 million. The Group grew aggressively, mainly through acquisitions, throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s and was listed on the JSE in 2000. In 2011, Walmart, the biggest retailer in the world, purchased a 51% share in the South African business. Massmart now comprises four divisions and is one of South Africa’s largest retail entities. It achieves good turnover growth through successfully meeting the needs of independent resellers, commercial users and end-user consumers.

Massmart operates in 13 sub-Saharan countries and holds a portfolio of 11 distinctly branded wholesale and retail chains... MORE