Alan Keep's involvement in The CEO SleepOut™ is about using education to conquer the world
Using education as a tool for global competitiveness is a strong motivator for Alan Keep of Bowman Gilfillan Africa Group and his involvement in The Sun International CEO SleepOut™.
As a returnee to The Sun International CEO SleepOut™, Bowman Gilfillan Africa Group's Managing Partner, Alan Keep, has some choice words on the initiative: “I’ll probably approach it with mixed feelings, I enjoyed the experience last year, but it’s a bit of a reminder of what life is like for some people.”
As a leader in the legal profession, Alan's focus on education is easy to understand: “The education side is absolutely key in a law firm especially as South African lawyers now need to compete with some of the best lawyers in the globe and in other markets. It is absolutely key that our education system provides us with the material that we need and helping people that don’t have access to education is crucial to that. There are plenty of people who have potential but without the right opportunities and initiatives like this can help bridge that.”
Alan has been the Managing Partner of Bowman Gilfillan Africa Group since 2014. He is ranked by Chambers Global as a leader in his field and by Legal 500 as a leading lawyer, and is also ranked by other legal publications, including Best Lawyers, IFLR and Plc. Alan practices in the fields of corporate law and tax law.
Alan’s regular clients include Standard Bank, SABMiller, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BP, Barloworld, PPC, Anglogold Ashanti, Marsh and Ericsson. Recent major transactions that Alan has advised on include acting for SABMiller in the formation of its African soft drink joint venture with The Coca Cola Company, and the disposal of its strategic stake in Tsogo Sun Limited, advising Fountainhead Property Fund in its acquisition by Redefine, advising Standard Bank on various issues relating to its Tutuwa black economic empowerment transaction, and advising BP on the conclusion of its empowerment transaction with Kapela Investments. Alan has advised on the structuring and implementation of numerous significant black economic empowerment transactions in the South African market.
He is a member of the International Bar Association, where he has held office within the Tax Committee and has presented numerous papers at its annual conference.
Alan's qualifications include a B Comm LLB (Natal) and a H Dip Tax (Rand Afrikaans University).