Interview with Anthony Chappel – Board and Foundation 2001 to date Tony has seen two of his sons matriculate at St David’s, Daniel in 2007 and Patrick in 2009 with both sons starting their career at St David’s in Grade 0. Tony is Catholic and was educated ... »
Interview with Anthony Chappel – Board and Foundation 2001 to date Tony has seen two of his sons matriculate at St David’s, Daniel in 2007 and Patrick in 2009 with both sons starting their career at St David’s in Grade 0. Tony is Catholic and was educated at CBC in Springs and his father at CBC Boksburg and is a director of the law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright based in Sandton. In 2001, Tony joined the board of governors of St David’s, proposed by Eric Annegarn, vice-chairman. At the same time Robin Smith also joined the board and Tony Reilly was chairman. Tony was on the board for 7 years and retired as chairman of the board in 2007. Tony is currently a trustee of the St David’s Foundation. Tony asked the board for a mandate to establish a foundation and led an investigation into this, preparing the constitution in 2004. Paul Edey’s wife Susan put Tony in touch with Chantal Ratcliff, an experienced and very practical fund raiser. Chantal knew how foundations worked and how to make them successful. Her advice was that the board must be really committed, embrace the concept and understand exactly how it should work bearing in mind that there is not a culture of giving in South Africa. Chantal was appointed in 2005 and was involved in the development of the Foundation for 4 years. There is no doubt that she played a significant role in the success of the Foundation which was established in 2005. Tony’s vision was that the Foundation would endow the school adding value, assisting in transforming the school and that the Foundation would be used to mobilize MOBS (Marist Old Boys). Tony believes that you cannot have a truly great school without its old boys being involved and supportive of it. Thierry Dalais was the first chairman of the Foundation in 2006 and Robin Smith the current chairman being an ex officio trustee whilst he was chairman of the board of governors. Following his appointment as executive head in 2002, and prior to his joining Gibbs, Paul Edey had indicated to Tony that he needed to move on and suggested that a consultant would perhaps be better suited to the role of executive head of the school. Paul had mentioned Mike Greeff, a businessman with a passion for education, who had run some staff workshops. Tony, then chairman of the board, followed up on this idea and Mike was eventually appointed as the chief executive in 2006. JLE August 2014