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Ian Kantor

Engineer, banker and company builder

By South African Index Editorial Desk · Published · Last reviewed

Official portrait of Ian Kantor
Ian Kantor in an official Investec portrait.: Investec · Source. Resized and converted to WebP for this site.

Ian Kantor started the Johannesburg leasing company that became Investec on 24 March 1974. [1]

Investec identifies him as a co-founder and the original chief executive. [2][3]

Biography

Kantor worked in technology sales, leasing and university teaching before entering the business. [1]

He registered Hosken Consolidated Leasing after joining the Hosken investment group in 1974. [1]

He later joined Nestadt and Grolman in the owner team that adopted the Investec name. [1][4]

Kantor remained a director while developing a private-bank business in the Netherlands from 1988. [3]

Key contributions

Created the predecessor leasing company and helped lead the 1980 bank acquisition. [1]

Helped establish a consensus-based decision process inside Investec. [1][3]

Life and career timeline

  1. Registered Hosken Consolidated Leasing. [1]

  2. Joined the owner team that adopted the Investec name. [1][4]

  3. Helped conclude the banking-licence acquisition. [1]

  4. Moved to the Netherlands while remaining an Investec director. [3]

Frequently asked questions

What did Ian Kantor found?

He started the leasing company that became Investec. [1]

Was he Investec’s first chief executive?

Investec describes him as its founding chief executive. [2]

What was his role in company culture?

He promoted unanimous agreement for important team decisions. [1][3]

Related people

  • Larry Nestadt — South African investor and one of the three original founders named in Investec’s official company history.
  • Errol Grolman — South African business builder and one of the three original founders named by Investec.
  • Bernard Kantor — South African banker and early Investec company builder who led important United Kingdom expansion.
  • Stephen Koseff — South African banker, Investec co-founder and former long-serving group chief executive.
  • Fani Titi — South African banker and company builder who has served as Investec group chief executive since March 2020.

Associated organisations

Related research

Sources

  1. Investec Alumni, Ian Kantor, 2025-09-23. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-30. ↩
  2. Investec, The Investec story, 2020-07-27. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-30. ↩
  3. Investec, Ian Kantor’s lessons in leadership, 2020-08-12. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-30. ↩
  4. Investec, Deepest condolences – Errol Grolman, 2019-01-06. Original source. Accessed 2026-10-30. ↩