Stefan Du Plessis

Experience

• 

  LexisNexis

  Jan 2010 - Dec 2013

  Forged and managed winning faculty members, Academic Executives and eLearning teams’ relationships across South African higher education institutions to secure and grow B2B sales opportunities and successfully reach personal sales targets. Directed eBook technical development, successfully delivering to market through engaged vendor relations. Implemented LMS based eLearning solution within large scale publisher. Led effective software integration between company ERP system and LMS solution. Managed budget planning, forecasting and reporting to aid executive decision making. Show less

  • Business Analyst - Higher Education Digital Solutions

    Jan 2012 - Dec 2013

  • Academic Representative

    Jan 2010 - Jan 2012
• 

  LexisNexis South Africa

  Jan 2014 - Jan 2015

  ELearning Manager - Higher Education

  Identified as leadership talent following multiple performance awards to conceive and launch digital first operations. Devised divisional digital, mobile and eLearning strategy, implementing effective operational workflows to optimise multi-channel digital delivery.Managed and developed direct team to identify new opportunities and maximise sales revenue growth.

• 

  Eiffel Corp PTY Ltd

  Feb 2015 - Feb 2016

  Strategic Services Manager - Educational Technology and eLearning

  Headhunted to form new operational structure, spearhead business growth, develop own IP services, reduce reseller partner reliance and increase gross profitability to meet aggressive business transformation targets. Formed budget from scratch, hired and coached new consulting team and drove effective resource allocation to drive multiple cost efficiencies.Shaped and launched new framework, team structures, services profile, KPI’s, budget, consulting productivity measures, team incentives, training framework and cost-effective processes from scratch to drive increased gross profitability.Scoped, identified and secured African and US reseller partnership agreements, devising sales enablement, go to market strategies, product structures, consulting, digital product development, instructional design, professional development, technical services and product training to increase sales by 150% in only 12 months. Show less

• 

  Eiffel Corp (PTY) Ltd

  Feb 2016 - May 2024

  Promoted to launch group wide new market and IP service offerings, leading 3-year growth strategy to spearhead extensive profitability growth across new group operations. Formed offshore and trust structures. Executed new global channel partnerships across US, UAE, EU, Indian and Sub-Saharan African territories. Formulated corporate governance and risk management mitigation plans. Devised global business cases, created go to market strategies, built key global partnerships and led strategic negotiations to secure Global EdTech Education, Cloud Based LMS solutions and EdTech startup partnerships as first global reseller with exclusive global rights and equity incentives.Identified FinTech payment innovation within education as key growth opportunity; devising and launching pilot project through in-depth knowledge of payments/open banking/banking as platform industry. Fundamental in increasing company turnover by 200% from 2016 – 2020 Show less Promoted to spearhead growth across East, West, & South African markets. Transformed group commercial and new business development through effective strategy formation, with full sales leadership control. Negotiated and secured global reseller agreements. Member of Executive committee that successfully implemented BBBEE strategy (Level 2 contributor). Key Executive team member launching year on year product and services diversification strategy. Pioneered frameworks, goals and direction, instilling commercial/legal compliance processes with legal team and shaped risk management controls and corporate governance. Negotiated and secured multiple global reseller partnerships with Digital, Instructional Design, Consulting, Student Information System, Mobile App Development, Student Employment Software, Publisher, LMS, Learning and Predictive Analytics Providers across US, UAE, EU, India and East/West/South Africa.Directed digital sales planning, go to market strategy development, sales team development, quarterly business reviews and annual sales strategies to deliver strategic solutions and attain instrumental growth. Show less

  • Chief Executive Officer

    Sept 2023 - May 2024

  • Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

    Mar 2019 - Sept 2023

  • Commercial Director

    Feb 2016 - Feb 2019
• 

  Rocket Education Rewards

  Aug 2024 - now

  Chief Executive Officer

  As CEO of Rocket Education Rewards, I lead the development and growth of an AI-powered platform that empowers higher education institutions to create and manage rewards programs for their students. Rocket enables universities to offer personalized rewards based on student performance and behavior, driving engagement and improving student outcomes. By seamlessly integrating with institutional systems and external rewards providers, Rocket transforms the way universities motivate and support their students, creating a new standard for student success in higher education Show less