André Pienaar is the Chief Executive and the Founder of C5 Capital, a specialist investment firm focused on energy security with offices in Washington DC, Dallas, London, Luxembourg and Vienna.
Born in South Africa, André Pienaar is a leading investor in energy security based in the United States and the United Kingdom.
As the Chief Executive and Founder of C5 Capital, he seeks out opportunities to grow companies in nuclear energy globally. In addition, he is a philanthropist who devotes his energy to international efforts to promote peace and global security, protect children, and provide for military and national security veterans.
Andre was the architect and a co-founder of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), also known as the Scorpions following a multi-year capacity building programme he led for South African law enforcement and intelligence agencies during Presidents Mandela’s presidency working with former intelligence and law enforcement offices from the CIA, MI-6, the Metropolitan Police, the FBI and the DEA. He advised the Scorpions from its inception until the unit’s dissolution by Jacob Zuma in 2008.
André was its youngest managing director in Kroll, an US risk mitigation company, until the successful sale of the company to Marsh & McLennan in 2003. In 2004, he founded G3, an international consulting firm that advises global companies and international law firms. In 2011, he sold G3 to Kinnevik AB, a leading technology investment company listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange.
André currently serves on several boards, including Ionir in Israel, Haven Cybersecurity in Luxembourg and ITC Secure in the United Kingdom. His previous board memberships include Omada, Balabit and Shape Security- companies that C5 successfully sold. He is an investor in Vrye Weekblad, an iconic investigative newspaper based in Cape Town, South Africa and the Chairman of National Security News in London.
In addition to his corporate board memberships, André serves on the Advisory Council of the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), a U.S. government agency dedicated to global conflict resolution since 2014 and he is a member of the Atlantic Council Task Force on Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity.
He advised the 6th Duke of Westminster on the establishment of the new Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) in the United Kingdom as a state-of-the-art center for the rehabilitation of injured British military veterans. He advised the Prince of Wales on his initiative to protect the rain forests in Brazil and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
André holds two law degrees and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Andre is married to Teresa Carlson, a US technology executive, and they have 4 children.