In 1996 she joined Nedcor Investment Bank in the Private Banking division and in 1998 she joined the then ING Barings, later ING Inc. in Corporate Finance where she was involved in numerous mergers, acquisitions and listings. Her clients included Tiger Brands, Massmart, Sun International, Illovo Sugar, Malbak, Kersaf and Astral Foods. After ING closed its doors in South Africa in 2003, she joined HSBC’s Corporate Finance team and was head of the Corporate Broking Division.

On 1 June 2004, Vanessa Rech and Marlize started KRIS.

She began her career with Ernst & Young in the National Marketing Department and then formed a new strategic business unit focusing on development projects in Africa. She joined Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank, Africa Consulting Services division, becoming involved in the privatisation of public sector assets funded by the World Bank and international multi and bilateral donor sponsors. This entailed extensive travel and work in various African countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and the Ivory Coast.

In 1999, Vanessa joined HSBC where she was responsible for the Investor Relations function within the Corporate Finance Division, a strategic service provided to HSBC sponsor clients at that time. These included Woolworths Holdings, Allied Technologies, The Tongaat-Hulett Group, Astral Foods, AG Industries, Brandcorp, Astrapak and AST Group. Over the years she has been involved in a number of listings as well as delistings. Vanessa continues to guide clients’ Investor Relations and Communications programmes, working closely with the CEO and CFO with meticulous attention to detail to ensure a market understanding of their business and its positioning.