肆客足球 of Stellenbosch Enterprises (USE) celebrated the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of its 35 spinout companies for their successes, adaptability and resilience at USE's annual CEO event. Hosted by USE and proudly sponsored by Von Seidels, the event highlighted the achievements of USE's portfolio of companies that, in just the first quarter of the year, have already exceeded R8 million in profits – surpassing the total from last year.
The evening also recognised outstanding achievements across the spinout portfolio, with six prestigious awards presented to exceptional CEOs. They were:
The Chairman's Award – Nanosene (Gesté?l Kuyler)
Nanosene (Pty) Ltd, headed by Géstel Kuyler, won the Chairman's Award, acknowledging the team's highest performance standards in advancing the company's objectives over the past year. Nanosene is Africa's first bespoke polymer supplier that focuses on developing and producing amphiphilic polymers to isolate molecular drug targets. This breakthrough technology can transform the world of medicine by empowering researchers and drug developers to explore new avenues for treating various diseases.
The COO Award – CubeSpace (Mike-Alec Kearney)
Mike-Alec Kearney, the CEO of CubeSpace, accepted this distinguished award, which was personally selected by Stellenbosch Unviersity's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Prof Stan du Plessis, recognising the spinout company for its demonstration of tremendous growth paired with excellent financial performance over the past year. CubeSpace (CS) is a globally recognised leader in Attitude Determination and Control Systems (ADCS), supporting over 250 customers in more than 30 countries.
The Award for Sustainability and Impact (environmentally friendly initiatives) – SharkSafe Barrier (Sara Andreotti)
Sharksafe Barrier, represented by Sara Andreotti (their COO), received this award for outstanding commitment to environmentally friendly initiatives that create meaningful and measurable impact. The eco-friendly SharkSafe Barrier? biomimics the visual effect of a kelp forest (large marine seaweeds) and generates a strong magnetic field through ceramic magnets; this forms a double barrier (visual and magnetic) that keeps sharks from swimming through it.
The Award for Operational and Governance Excellence – Unistel Medical Laboratories (Leonora Theart)
This prestigious award was presented to Unistel Medical Laboratories and received by their CEO, Leonora Theart, for their exceptional achievement in establishing and maintaining superior operational frameworks and governance practices. The award celebrates the company's exemplary standards in business operations, strategic management, and corporate oversight. Unistel Medical Laboratories (Pty) Ltd. (UML) was founded in 1999 and is a dedicated human and animal genetics testing centre.
The Pivot Award - Special Award (for adapting to change) – Stellenbosch Nanofiber Company (Eugene Smit)
This distinctive award recognised Stellenbosch Nanofiber for their extraordinary adaptability and resilience in the face of change. It celebrates their successful business model transformation, strategy, and operations in response to evolving market conditions, technological disruption, and unforeseen challenges. The Stellenbosch Nanofiber company, headed by Dr. Eugene Smit, was founded in 2011. The company develops products at the cutting edge of nanoscience and technology. These technologies include two processes for high-throughput electrospinning of polymeric nanofibers, and a process for making continuous nanofiber yarns. The nanofiber materials produced using these processes can be applied in a broad range of areas, including high-performance filtration of liquids and gasses, biomedical materials, (including wound dressings, drug delivery materials, cell culture and tissue engineering scaffolds) energy, (including high-surface-area electrodes for next-generation batteries and fuel cells, battery separator membranes and supercapacitors) and lightweight structural composites (e.g. for automotive and aerospace applications).
The Deep Tech Award - SUN Magnetics (Coenrad Fourie)
SUN Magnetics received the Deep Tech Award, acknowledging its breakthrough innovations that represent truly world-class technological advancement. It recognises organisations developing impressive, cutting-edge technologies built upon profound scientific discoveries and engineering excellence. [PM1] With Coenrad Fourie at its helm, the company develops software for three-dimensional parameter extraction, simulation and analysis of superconductor integrated circuits and quantum electronics layouts.
Warm tribute
In a bittersweet moment, Anita Nel, Chief Director of the Innovation and Commercialisation Division, paid a warm tribute to Professor Stan du Plessis who will conclude his tenure as SU's Chief Operating Officer at the end of May 2025.
Prof. du Plessis' journey at SU spans over three decades, beginning in 1991 as a BCom Mathematics student. Years after he returned to SU as a Professor of Economics. Later he was instituted as the Dean of the SU Economics and Management Sciences Faculty, where he played a significant role in intensifying the faculty's research efforts and international competitiveness. Not only was Prof. du Plessis the first Dean to actively support SU's business incubator, the LaunchLab, he later became the chair of its board and was instrumental in formally integrating the LaunchLab into the university structure. He currently sits on the board of USE, which oversees the SU Group of Companies, until the end of his tenure. Nel said she will miss his wisdom, guidance and expertise.
In his final address to the spinout CEO's, du Plessis warned of the rising threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which generates deep fakes, referencing a spoofed message to a Ferrari executive and a manipulated video of Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters Tournament on Sunday, 13 April 2025.
“A deepfake is a highly realistic video, image, text, or voice that has been fully or partially generated using AI algorithms, machine learning techniques, and generative adversarial networks, or GANs. GANs are a type of AI model in which two neural networks, one generating content and the other evaluating it, compete to create highly realistic videos or audio that mimic real individuals. One network, called the generator, creates the fake media while the other, called the discriminator, evaluates how real or fake the generated content looks. This process continues until the generator produces media so realistic that the discriminator can no longer discern whether it's fake," explained du Plessis.
As AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, CEO's must become more aware of the technological threat posed by deepfakes, but also of the psychological vulnerabilities that make them effective. Du Plessis highlighted three key cognitive biases: Trust bias, confirmation bias, and our natural reliance on sensory information – all of which scammers exploit to deceive even the most seasoned leaders.
"We can no longer trust our eyes and ears, but we can trust our critical thinking," Du Plessis said, invoking the philosophy of science as a guiding principle for business leaders navigating uncertainty.
All of the visionaries celebrated at this annual event are supported and developed through SU's Innovation and Commercialisation Division's LaunchLab, the Innovus Technology Transfer Office and the USE Board. Together, they drive the transformation of cutting-edge research into companies that create a meaningful impact in our society.
