Rugby hero Francois Pienaar, after an absence of six years, has returned to South Africa and joined First National Bank as a strategic business development manager.
”His move into the world of banking is as a strategic business development manager to leverage the business potential of the group’s various sponsorships, most notably FNB’s extensive involvement in schools and university rugby,” according to a bank statement issued on Wednesday.
”This is an exciting new phase of my career…..and I will be using my experience in rugby, marketing and business to enable to group to maximise the business potential of its sponsorships. While moving into the business of banking I will retain strong links with the business of rugby,” Pienaar added.
He returns from a sojourn of six years in England where he was player, captain, coach and chief executive of Saracens — one of the UK’s top clubs.
”These have been very interesting and instructive years. Rugby is very much an entertainment industry and I learned much about marketing and business administration in this type of environment,” he said.
Pienaar will also be championing the Classic Clash outreach programmes whereby the universities run development programmes for their disadvantaged communities. The Maties Academy in Mitchell’s Plein, for example, covers 28 community schools in the area.
He returns to South Africa with his wife Nerine and two young sons, Jean (4) and Stephane (3).
The Pienaar family will initially reside at their Constantia, Cape Town, home while Pienaar will commute between Cape Town and Johannesburg. – Sapa