Meet The People That Will Walk With You.
Our Executive Team
Deal Leaders International was started by Andrew Bahlmann in April 2017. Long-time business partner, Rick Grantham, later joined as Joint-CEO.
Andrew Bahlmann
Corporate & Advisory
Andrew is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of entrepreneurial, corporate and M&A experience. Having built and sold his own businesses, successfully acquiring businesses, and advising on a multitude of equity transactions, Andrew has experience on both sides of the M&A table to provide solid advice to achieve the optimal deal DLI's clients.
Rick Grantham
Mid-Market
Rick is a qualified Mechanical Engineer with an MBA. Having spent 11 years successfully advising mid-market entrepreneurs and business owners on the growth and exit from their businesses and his own experience of growing and successfully selling his own businesses, Rick is committed to walking the journey with his clients until the right solutions are achieved.
Our Team
Our team is a small group of highly specialised professionals who are agile and adaptable to each client’s requirements. Every member plays a critical role in what we do and how we add value to your transaction. You will experience an energy and passion from our team that you would not expect from a ‘corporate finance’ discipline. You will truly draw comfort from the fact that our team and full resources will be in your corner every step of the way.
Janine Wright
Deal Associate
Janine holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and is a qualified Chartered Global Management Accountant. She has extensive experience in financial services having worked in banking, development finance, venture capital, structured finance and impact funding. During her career, she has held various operational and strategic roles having served as a non-executive director on several Boards in both Botswana and South Africa.
Andries Louw
Deal Associate
Andries holds a degree in Investment Management and a PDBA (Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration). He honed his skills as an analyst through his role as a financial analyst, focusing on asset finance and credit insurance. As a Deal Associate, Andries plays a key role in overseeing projects, assisting with financial analysis, valuations, client and acquirer interactions, and due diligence processes.
Reitumetse Pitso
Research Analyst
Reitumetse’s qualifications and experience as a Finance Journalist and her commerce background provide her with the ability to approach each transaction to best identify potential acquirers. With a keen interest in company and industry research, she entered the M&A industry as a marketing and communications analyst and later moved into research.
Matthew Diepenbroek
Senior Business Analyst
Matthew holds a B. Bus. Sci. with honours in Econometrics and is a CFA level III candidate. His knowledge and understanding of the interplay between financial markets worldwide provide a unique skill set to explore various industries, understand market sentiments, and insights to identify the right parties to bring to a deal.
Ariella Klitzner
Business Analyst
Ariella holds an Honours degree in Finance and Investment. Coming from a private equity background, she has a deep understanding of what buyers are looking for and expect.
Rudolph Vermeulen
Market Engagement Specialist
With an education in economics and after 18 years of analysing, advising, and buying and selling shares on exchanges across the globe, Rudolph joined Deal Leaders as Market Engagement Specialist.
Nikolaas Dreyer
Systems Support Analyst
Nikolaas holds a Bachelors degree in Financial Accounting and an Honours degree in Management Information Systems. He has worked in a variety of business functions, from start-ups to multinationals. He believes in implementing business process improvements through innovative technologies to allow organisations to become the best they can be.
Melanie Browne
Operations Manager
Melanie has been in Operations since 2011, closely monitoring, developing, and implementing policies and procedures while maintaining client relationships and governance in the financial services sector.
Lorna Paterson
New Business Initiatives
Lorna is a qualified legal secretary and accredited assessor and moderator. She began her career in banking before taking on marketing roles in logistics and education. She spent 15 years as a facilitator, assessor, moderator and learnership coordinator for training providers servicing large corporate clients.
Nina Vila Pouca
New Business Initiatives
Nina comes from a corporate background in sales, merchandising and auditing, assisting CEOs and partners manage day-to-day activities. She spent ten years as a project coordinator in two well-known, successful multi-disciplinary consulting engineering firms. Nina’s career to date has given her exposure to various environments where she has developed her skills in building and maintaining relationships.
Rella Suskin
Transaction Associate: Corporate & Advisory
Rella holds a B. Bus. Sci. with honours in Finance and has passed all three CFA exams. Her experience as a sector-agnostic equity analyst in the asset management industry provides her with strong research and financial analysis skills and a deep understanding of business models and industry trends across various sectors and geographies.
Taryn Henkel
Senior Financial Analyst
Taryn is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a B.Bus.Sci degree with honours in finance and accounting. She has more than ten years of auditing and financial reporting experience in South Africa and internationally. She has managed projects from inception to completion for a broad range of clients, from large listed entities to smaller privately held businesses across various industries. Her experience and skills equip her to understand and interpret technical accounting matters, perform robust financial analyses, and review complex consolidations, valuations and financial models.
Andrea Reinecke
Deal Associate
Andrea holds a BSc Financial Mathematics, an FRM, and is a Certified Director through the Institute of Directors. She has completed her MPhil in Corporate Strategy at GIBS and is awaiting her results. She has extensive experience in private equity and the financial services sector, and has served as a non-executive director on several Boards. Andrea is strategically orientated and has a passion for business.
Get in Touch. Let's Chat.
