Hardy Maritz

Director: Commercial Development
University of Cape Town

Hardy Maritz is a finance professional with a 25-year track record in higher education leadership, with wide ranging experience in leadership of finance teams in complex environments, financial management and reporting, cash flow planning and forecasting, planning and budgeting more generally, governance, systems and projects, executive support and training, negotiations of all types and communication with a diverse range of stakeholders. In the last two years he has widened his skill set in the commercialization space by heading up UCT’s Commercial Development division. 

Hardy’s sector experience, involvement and leadership has included producing academic viability models for the University of Venda, Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Namibia, leading a HESA/USaF and Finance Executive Forum team in designing a fee setting guideline and process for South African institutions, starting the benchmarking of local institutions project with colleagues from WITS and UJ and playing a role in negotiating the setting up and contractual arrangements in respect of the University Sports Company, by way of example. 

He has served on the Board, Audit and Risk Committee and Remuneration Committee of the Tertiary Education and Research Network of South Africa (TENET) and was chair of the Audit and Risk Committee since. TENET operates the South African national research and education network (NREN) and at its most basic level provides internet and related services to all universities and research institutes.  

In October 2023 he joined the Board of South African Broadband Education Networks (SABEN). SABEN provides connectivity services to the South African Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector and schools. 

In January 2017 he joined the Board of the South African National Library and Information Consortium (SANLiC) as a co-opted Director and continues to serve in this capacity on both the Board and Exco. SANLiC negotiates agreements with publishers on behalf of all members for access to library and research materials on a national basis. 

In May 2019 he was appointed by the Council of Sol Plaatjie University as an expert external member on its University Finance Committee, and in August 2023 was reappointed for a second term. 

From April 2023 he was elected as Chair of the Finance Executive Forum of USAf, having served as Deputy-Chair since November 2018 – he stepped away from this role in May 2024 due to his shift into a new division at UCT making him ineligible to continue in this capacity. He however continues to serve on the National Site Licensing and Open Access Project (NSLOAP) working group. 

Since January 2017 he has served as a trustee of the University of Cape Town Retirement Fund (UCTRF), while since January 2020 has chaired the UCTRF Investment Committee. 

From August 2020 until the end of September 2021 Hardy served as Acting Executive Director: Finance (now Chief Financial Officer) at the University of Cape Town, this period having been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the April 2021 fire. Since January 2022 he has been in a new position within UCT as the Director: Commercial Development.