Team Size: Five

What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in? 

Recently, my legal team and I have led a number of strategically significant matters for SuperSport, most notably supporting the CANAL+ acquisition of MultiChoice and the subsequent integration of SuperSport into the CANAL+ group. This has included advising on change-of-control, governance alignment, regulatory considerations and the protection of SuperSport’s core sports rights assets.

I have also led the legal work on recent the sale of PSL Club SuperSport United Football Club, covering transaction structuring, regulatory approvals, employment and football-governance compliance, and post-closing risk protections.

In parallel, my team continues to negotiate and renew major long-term sports media rights agreements across football, rugby and other premium properties, incorporating complex exclusivity, digital exploitation, regulatory compliance and anti-piracy protections.

We have also strengthened SuperSport’s anti-piracy and content protection frameworks across multiple African jurisdictions, and supported a range of strategic commercial partnerships and brand initiatives aligned with SuperSport’s and CANAL+’s long-term growth objectives.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience? 

I focus on providing strategic advice to the business, maintaining clarity and enabling decisive leadership. I quickly identify the issues that are truly material, establish a clear legal position, and ensure executives understand both the constraints and the options available. My priority is to protect core assets and business continuity, while maintaining constructive engagement with regulators, partners and key stakeholders. Advice is practical, commercially grounded and clearly communicated.

Once stability is restored, I strengthen governance, contractual protections and crisis frameworks so the organisation emerges more resilient and better prepared.

Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on that you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful of?

Based on the past year, a few clear trends stand out. First, regulatory and competition scrutiny of consolidation and cross-border transactions is intensifying, particularly in media, technology and content-driven businesses, requiring earlier legal involvement and more sophisticated stakeholder engagement.

Second, the value-at-risk focus on core intangible assets – especially IP, data and exclusive content rights – has increased, with boards expecting stronger contractual protections, enforcement mechanisms and demonstrable return on rights investments.

Third, there is a growing expectation that in-house lawyers act as commercial partners, not just risk managers, providing decision-ready advice at speed during periods of uncertainty or change.

Finally, technology-driven disruption – including AI, digital distribution and piracy – is reshaping risk profiles faster than regulation can keep pace, making adaptability, practical judgment and cross-functional collaboration essential.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company? Can you share an example of a recent legal-led initiative that had a significant impact? 

My team operates as a strategic enabler, not a back-office function. We are embedded early in decision-making, helping shape structure, risk allocation and execution so that commercial strategy can move quickly and with confidence.

A recent example is the legal-led redesign of SuperSport’s anti-piracy and content-protection framework. We moved beyond reactive enforcement and built a structured, contractually embedded programme across key rights agreements, linking anti-piracy obligations, KPIs and remedies directly to commercial value. This materially strengthened protection of live rights, improved partner accountability, and supported the business case for continued investment in premium sports content.

More broadly, we ensure that major initiatives – including rights acquisitions, M&A, asset disposals and strategic partnerships – are structured to protect core assets, maintain regulatory integrity and support long-term growth, aligned with SuperSport’s and CANAL+’s strategic objectives.