Imtiaz Patel

Chairman : Multichoice Group – leading video entertainment provider on the African continent spanning 50 countries; previously Group CEO of Naspers Video Entertainment; Group CEO of Multichoice South Africa; CEO SuperSport International; Director of Professional Cricket South Africa

Distinguished by his ability to modernise, he is widely recognised for skill in innovating industries and coaching winning teams of all forms. After pioneering cricket’s Twenty/20 format in South Africa while CEO of SuperSport (2005 to 2010), Imtiaz went on to conclude the transformative broadcast deal with South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) that established DStv as a product that was embraced by the mass market in South Africa.

Imtiaz Patel is the Chairman of MultiChoice Group, Africa’s most-loved storyteller and proudly pan-African video entertainment business. He is internationally-recognised as a leader in the world of sport and general entertainment and as one of the most transformative leaders in African business. Imtiaz also played a leading role in the successful listing of the MultiChoice Group as a Top 40 JSE company, after its unbundling from the Naspers Group in February 2019.

Since his appointment, he has overseen the exponential growth of the video entertainment company, both in scale and revenue. He has watched over the establishment of MultiChoice’s Phuthuma Nathi Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) scheme and launched the on-demand movie service BoxOffice, and the highly-acclaimed Explora decoder.

The MultiChoice Group has had a corporate home in Media City Dubai since 2008 and Imtiaz has been based there since May 2017 when he moved from South Africa, maintaining his role of CEO: Video Entertainment for the Naspers Group before being named in his current role as Executive Chairman of the MultiChoice Group in February 2019.

He is also Chairman of Kingmakers, a leading sports betting and digital entertainment platform focused on sub-Saharan Africa, with online and agency sports betting operations in four markets to date and more products and geographies in the pipeline. The company is growing rapidly in terms of turnover and staff, having grown its revenue in FY22 to $131 million from $78 million in FY21. Kingmakers is headquartered at JLT, Dubai and continues to demonstrate a commitment to enhancing investment and employment in the country.

The most recent development and commitment to investment in Dubai comes in the form of a newly-formed fintech company – of which Imtiaz is the Chairman - that aims to locate its engineering heart in the offices of Rapyd in the DIFC. It is anticipated that this company will employ scores of engineers located in Dubai.

Imtiaz is also currently the Deputy Chairman of the South African Business Council in Dubai, an organization whose aim is to promote trade between Dubai and South Africa.

Imtiaz is also an educator and mentor at heart and continues to seek out opportunity to inspire and educate others. Not only has he completed the UCT Business School’s executive PMD programme and the Senior Executive programme at Harvard Business School, but he has also served on the Advisory Board of Wits Business School and on FIFA’s Strategic Committee. He also developed the ground-breaking Executive Sports Management programme at the Wits Business School (WBS) and in August 2009, he was awarded the Phil Weber Award, the highest accolade given to an employee in the Naspers Group.