NMMU Family Business Unit Team

Professional background

Prof Venter has been a lecturer in the Department of Business Management at UPE/NMMU since 1998. Her field of expertise and research is that of managing family businesses and succession from one generation to the next. Prof Venter also lectures and researches Entrepreneurship, Small Business Management and Marketing Communication Management. She was awarded her doctorate in 2003 for her study entitled, “The succession process of small and medium-sized family businesses in South Africa”. She has already published numerous articles in accredited national and international journals on Small Business and Family Business Management issues. Prof Venter has also attended more than 40 national and international academic conferences, authored or co-authored four books and authored numerous chapters in books. 

To date, Prof Venter has authored more than 70 articles published in non-academic journals, magazines and newspapers such as Landbouweekblad, Farmers Weekly, Dairy Mail, Sunday Times and Die Burger on topics ranging from Small Business Management, Succession in Family Businesses and the Role of Women in Family Businesses. She has been invited by large organisations such as Old Mutual and Sanlam to serve as subject matter expert in their national ‘road shows’ for more than five years. She has also acted as keynote speaker for various farmer associations (including Milk Producers Organisation and RCS Farmers Association) and to date completed more than 60 presentations.

Prof Venter is currently Associate Editor of the South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences and a reviewer for four other academic journals. She was just elected as the Chairman of the Board of the South African Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS), is a member of the Family Firm Institute in Boston, USA and a representative on the Faculty RTI Committee of the NMMU, to name but a few.

Prof Venter was the co-author three times of academic papers that won the Best Paper Award during academic conferences. She was also the recipient of the Renaissance Postgraduate Scholarship to promote equity, diversity and excellence in the ranks of academic staff from 2000-2002. She also won the prestigious Best Dissertation Award from the Family Firm Institute in 2003 based on her dissertation titled “Succession in small and medium-sized family businesses in South Africa”. She was the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences Emerging Researcher of the year in 2007 and the Faculty’s Researcher of the Year in 2010 and received her NRF rating in 2007 as well. In addition, she was a recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2003 from the old UPE.

Prof Venter also consults to family businesses throughout South Africa. She has a passion for people and observing families flourish and grow in their businesses and families. She is very fond of her own family – her husband Johan and two children, Juane (11) and Eric (8).  Elmarie has also completed both the Half Ironman and the Full Ironman in 2010.

Qualifications: DCom, MBA, MCom, BCom Hons, HDE, BCom 

Dr Shelley Farrington