Antony Ball
About Antony Ball
Antony Ball (age 66) is an independent director of Lesaka Technologies, Inc. (LSAK) since 2020; he is co‑founder and chairman of Value Capital Partners (VCP), and previously co‑founded Brait where he served as Deputy Chairman and CEO (1998–2011) and as a non‑executive director until 2012; he holds a BComm (Hons) from UCT, is a Chartered Accountant (SA), and completed an MPhil at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, with board‑valued expertise in private equity, public markets, finance, accounting, and corporate governance . The Board has determined that Ball is “independent” under Nasdaq Rule 5605(a)(2) for Board membership; in prior year disclosure he was independent for all committees other than Audit, consistent with Nasdaq Rule 10A‑3(b)(1) constraints .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brait | Deputy Chairman & CEO | 1998–2011 | Led private equity platform; regarded as a pioneer in South African private equity |
| Brait | Non‑executive Director | until 2012 | Continued oversight; left Board in 2012 |
| Lesaka | Led Brait’s investment in Lesaka | 2004 | Strategic investor role predating current directorship |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes / Interlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value Capital Partners (Pty) Ltd (VCP) | Co‑founder & Chairman | Current | VCP entitled (historically) to designate one nominee to Lesaka’s Board; Ball is VCP’s designee; VCP holds 15,642,598 LSAK shares (18.6%) |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Remuneration Committee (Chair), Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (Member), Capital Allocation Committee (Chair) .
- Independence: Six of eleven directors are independent under Nasdaq rules, including Ball; non‑employee directors meet regularly in executive session .
- Attendance: Board held six meetings in FY2025; each director attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings; seven of eleven directors attended last year’s annual meeting .
- Board leadership: Executive Chairman is Ali Mazanderani; Lead Independent Director is Kuben Pillay .
- Committee activity (FY2025): Audit (10 meetings), Remuneration (4), Nominating & Governance (4), Social & Ethics (3), Capital Allocation (6) .
| Committee | Role | FY2025 Meetings | Key Oversight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remuneration | Chair (Ball) | 4 | Executive pay, incentive/equity plans, clawback policy, director compensation, HR oversight |
| Nominating & Governance | Member (Ball) | 4 | Board composition, independence, succession planning, governance guidelines |
| Capital Allocation | Chair (Ball) | 6 | Major investments, capital allocation, acquisition execution/review |
- Director agreements: Independent director agreements and indemnification agreements in place for all directors .
- Related‑party transaction oversight: Audit Committee reviews/approves disclosable related‑party transactions using defined criteria .
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) | 160,000 | 136,000 |
| Stock Awards ($) | – | – |
| Stock Options ($) | – | – |
| Other ($) (VAT reimbursed) | 24,000 | 20,400 |
| Total ($) | 184,000 | 156,400 |
- Structure: Non‑employee directors receive base Board fees plus additional compensation for committee membership/chair roles; no equity grants shown for Ball in FY2024 or FY2025; “Other” represents reimbursed VAT on director fees due to South African tax treatment .
Performance Compensation
- No performance‑based compensation components disclosed for non‑employee directors; Ball received cash fees only, with no RSUs/PSUs or options reported in FY2024 or FY2025 .
- Clawback policy: The Remuneration Committee administers the company’s compensation clawback policy (committee‑level responsibility; applies broadly to compensation programs) .
| Performance Metric | Weight | Target | Actual | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director performance metrics (RSU/PSU metrics, TSR, EBITDA, ESG) | – | – | – | Not applicable for non‑employee directors; no such awards disclosed |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Entity | Role | Committee Roles | Interlock / Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value Capital Partners (Pty) Ltd (VCP) | Chairman | – | VCP previously had a Cooperation Agreement designating one Board nominee (Ball); VCP holds 18.6% of LSAK; VCP Agreement includes conditional subscription and RMB step‑in rights; VCP amendment extended maturity to Dec 31, 2025 |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Private equity and public markets expertise, with deep experience in finance, accounting, and corporate governance; broad experience as officer/director across industries viewed by the Board as valuable .
- Credentials: BComm (Hons) UCT; Chartered Accountant (SA); MPhil Oxford (Rhodes Scholar) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares | % of Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antony Ball (individual) | – | – | No individual beneficial ownership line item reported in principal shareholders table |
| Value Capital Partners (Pty) Ltd (VCP) | 15,642,598 | 18.6% | VCP has sole voting/dispositive power; Ball is VCP’s non‑executive leader; VCP’s business address disclosed |
| Directors & Executive Officers as a Group | 2,904,456 | 3.4% | Group ownership (context for Board overall) |
- Stock ownership guidelines: Non‑employee directors are not required to own Lesaka shares under the company’s ownership guidelines; unvested time‑based equity counts toward executive compliance, but options/performance‑conditioned units do not; director policy reflects South African practices .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths:
- Independent status affirmed; Ball chairs Remuneration and Capital Allocation and serves on Nominating & Governance, signaling active governance engagement and strategic oversight .
- Documented committee charters, frequent executive sessions of non‑employee directors, and defined related‑party transaction review enhance governance rigor .
- Attendance threshold met (≥75%) with regular Board/committee activity (Board: 6; Remuneration: 4; Capital Allocation: 6) .
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Potential conflicts / RED FLAGS:
- Significant shareholder interlock: Ball is chairman/co‑founder of VCP, which holds 18.6% of LSAK and historically had rights to designate a director (Ball) via a Cooperation Agreement; Ball chairs Remuneration and Capital Allocation, concentrating influence over pay and capital deployment—investors should monitor for alignment and any related‑party matters .
- Conditional capital support agreement: The VCP Agreement (amended maturity to Dec 31, 2025) and RMB step‑in rights create financing linkages between Lesaka and VCP/RMB; while not inherently problematic, they raise related‑party exposure considerations under the Audit Committee’s transaction review policy .
- Ownership alignment: Non‑employee directors are not required to own shares; Ball’s individual beneficial ownership is not disclosed, which may be viewed as weaker “skin‑in‑the‑game” despite VCP’s large stake .
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Other investor signals:
- A series of law‑firm “investigation alerts” press releases occurred in Oct–Nov 2025, indicating heightened shareholder litigation attention; while generic, they reflect investor sentiment risk (Bragar Eagel & Squire, Pomerantz) [7] [9] [10] [11] [12] [14] [15].