Johan Andries Le Roux, better known as Fef le Roux, was born in the town of Robertson in 1952, and matriculated from Robertson High School in 1969. He studied law at the University of Stellenbosch from 1971 to 1975, completing the BA (Law) and LL.B degrees.
From 1976 to 1980 he worked as the public prosecutor of Stellenbosch and then as a member of the State Attorney’s Office in Cape Town, during which years he also wrote the professional examinations and qualified himself as an attorney, conveyancer and notary of the High Court of South Africa.
He joined the Cape Bar in 1981, where he practised as an advocate until his retirement from the Bar in June 2012. He was awarded Senior Counsel status by President Nelson Mandela in 1996.
In 2005 he became a director and shareholder of the since listed company Curro Holdings Limited where he acted as chairperson from 2009 until his retirement from the board of directors in March 2013. Under his involvement and chairmanship Curro grew from a one school company with about 700 learners to a profitable company with 26 schools accommodating about 22000 learners.
He has, over many years, had a concern about society’s ability to understand and face future environmental challenges. Especially during his time with Curro he also identified a definite need for better guidance and direction to school leavers, especially after matric. The concept of AEL is his practical contribution in this regard.