Board
Andrew Douglas
Founder
Andrew is a Wine Warrior and Direct-to-Customer futurist.
Andrew is the Group Managing Director and Founder of Southern Skies. Over his career in the South African wine industry Andrew has gained a reputation as an innovative change agent and entrepreneur, founding new businesses and leading several acquisitions.
Andrew returned to Australia in 2002 to manage the production of Croc Festival – a positive lifestyle youth entertainment initiative staged in remote Indigenous communities across Australia. Andrew arrived in South Africa in 2004 to launch sister event Rock Challenge at the invitation of the World Health Organisation. He went on to produce the 2010 FIFA World Cup campaigns for the V&A Waterfront and Melrose Arch.
With a passion for impactful commerce Andrew is now focussed on building business solutions that enable South African Wine Producers to sell more wine Direct-to-Customer – the most profitable sales channel for wine estates and brand owners.
Since 2021 Andrew has led the acquisition of and/or founded an array of businesses including wine.co.za, cellardirect.co.za, oorskotwyn.co.za, vintelligence.co.za, cybercellar.com, thebeverageclub.co.za and winetrader.co.za.
Andrew served as the Australian Honorary Consul from 2009 to 2011.
Arnold Scholtz
Non-executive director
Arnold is an entrepreneurial accountant, advisor, and investor.
Building on years of generalist experience as a Chartered Accountant (SA) in the professional services group ASL, Arnold both consults to, and invests in aspiring businesses in the SME environment.
Arnold has an affinity for entrepreneurial thinking, strategic management, and digitalisation, with ASL being awarded the first Xero Accounting Partner for South Africa in 2017.
Arnold co-founded Yela Partners in 2013, a private investment company that serves as a growth partner to aspiring businesses.
Yela currently has key investments in the healthcare, property, manufacturing, and wine industries.
Following Yela’s investment into Southern Skies in 2022, Arnold joined the board as a non-executive director.
Karen Newman
Company Secretary
As a dedicated & detail-oriented accounting professional Karen Newman has been meeting the accounting needs of corporations and individuals across a range of industries for over 20 years.
Karen has diverse skill set coupled with a flair for multitasking which augers well in the day to day management of administrative matters for the Southern Skies board.