The man who leads South Africa’s largest automotive group and earns R87,000 per day

Ockert Janse van Rensburg, the CEO of South Africa’s largest automotive company, Motus, has been with the company for over ten years and today is paid over R30 million to lead the multinational dealer group.

An accountant by trade, Janse van Rensburg qualified through the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and completed his articles at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he spent 12 years.

In his later years at the prestigious accounting firm, the Motus CEO rose to become Audit Partner and Director, while adding a Higher Diploma in Corporate Law, International Law and Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)

In 2007, Janse van Rensburg joined Foodcorp, a major South African food manufacturing and distribution company responsible for well-known brands like Ouma Rusks and Yum Yum Peanut Butter.

He served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) until 2014, after which he joined the automotive industry.

In January 2015, Janse van Rensburg joined Imperial Holdings as CFO of its automotive division, Motus, guiding the company through its unbundling from Imperial and successful listing on the JSE in 2018.

Janse van Rensburg was appointed to the Motus Board of Directors in 2017 and acted as CEO for six months in 2018 while his predecessor, Osman Arbee, was on medical leave.

In November 2024, after nearly a decade as the group’s CFO, he took over from Arbee as CEO, after completing the Global CEO Program (GCP) jointly facilitated by Wharton and IESE business schools.

Alongside his role as group CEO, Janse van Rensburg is also a director and trustee of various Motus Group companies and trusts.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he is focused on building long-term sustainability, maintaining consistent performance, and empowering people to make decisions within clear frameworks.

“Motus has a strong entrepreneurial culture, which is critical in an industry that demands attention to detail, agility, and a focus beyond the next reporting result,” Janse van Rensburg says.

“What motivates me is building a resilient group with a clear shared purpose, high-performing teams, and the ability to deliver strong results.”

Delivering on his promise

This motivation could be seen right from the start of his tenure as CEO, with Janse van Rensburg taking the reins halfway through the 2025 financial year – which is best described as a “tale of two halves”.

Following an underwhelming first half driven by margin compression on new vehicle sales, the group’s management implemented decisive cost and efficiency controls.

As a result, 54% of the year’s total operating profit was generated in the second half, while cash flow from operating activities surged 60% to R5.7 billion, and debt was slashed by R4.2 billion.

Janse van Rensburg led the pivot away from an initial defensiveness towards Chinese manufacturers, actively integrating Chinese and emerging Asian brands across Motus’ South African, UK, and Australian retail networks.

In his first full financial year as group CEO, the financial benefits became evident, as Motus saw profits before tax rise 20%, exceeding R4 billion, while operating profit grew 4% on revenue of R113.6 billion.

The group lowered its debt a further 13% to R9 billion, while the company’s total dividend per share jumped 29% to 710 cents per share.

Janse van Rensburg’s reward for this performance was a basic salary of R12,654,000, or little over R1 million per month, alongside a R18,144,000 short-term incentive and an expected share award of R14,050,000.

The Motus Group also granted the CEO retirement, medical, and additional benefits totalling R824,000 for total cash remuneration of R31,622,000, at an average of R2,635,167 per month, R608,115 per week, and R86,636 per day.