Tom Soper

TRUSTEE

Tom graduated with a BCom degree at Rhodes University in South Africa and completed his tertiary education when he became a Chartered Accountant of Zimbabwe at Deloitte’s. He then went on to London for several years, working with Barclays and NatWest banks, before returning to the Barclays’ structured finance team in Zimbabwe. Tom and a couple of friends then left Barclays to set up their own successful structured and corporate finance company in Zimbabwe. Following this, Tom worked in commerce, where he was Financial Director of successful fuel and mining companies. Tom is currently retired and is very passionate about the Zambezi Valley and its diverse inhabitants.

Alastair Wright

TRUSTEE

Alastair was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1950. He attended the University of Cape Town and then the University of Surrey in the UK, where he graduated with a B.Sc (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering and an M.Sc degree in business methodology. After a brief spell working at the Barclays head office in London, he returned to Africa, first to South Africa where he worked for Anglo American and then, in 1981, to Harare. The last 20 years of his formal career were spent with Delta Corporation where he held various executive positions, including Director of Information Technology and Managing Director of Zimbabwe Sun Limited, the group’s hotel and leisure company. He retired in 2009.

Alastair has had wide exposure to community service and trusteeship with a long association with education and conservation. In particular, he played a central role in the early structuring and coordination of the pioneering Savé Valley Conservancy in the south eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe.

Alastair has been married to his wife, Tamara for over 40 years. Together they have 3 adult daughters and 3 grandchildren. He comments that he has no greater wish than that his grandchildren should experience and enjoy the unspoilt beauty of the Zimbabwe bush, just as he has been so fortunate to do during his lifetime.