CHRISTOPHER C. RICHARDS
Operations Manager
Piketberg,WC
Biographical Info
Age: 28
DOB: 28/01/1998
Citizenship: South African
Summary
Accomplished professional with experience gained on the biggest table grape farm in the Southern Hemisphere. Expertise in building operational procedures, continuous improvement implementation, and procurement. Demonstrates strong capabilities in logistics coordination, data analysis, and report writing. Proven resilience in high-pressure situations and adept at project management and inventory management. Committed to driving efficiency and excellence within organisations while pursuing opportunities for continuous growth and development.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
2
2
Languages
Work History
Operations Manager
Le Roux Fruit Exporters (Le Roux Group)
Wellington, South Africa
05.2025 - Current
- I was giving the opportunity to broaden my work scope over the Le Roux group (Broodkraal, Mooikelder, Sandrivier and F2U packers).
- Constantly working to improve transparency through out the company to be able to make the right decisions.
- Working closely with the marketing manager to implement a new marketing system which I used and managed during the 2025/26 grape harvesting season.
- Managing and monitoring the fleet in terms of licensing, fuel usage and maintenance cost.
- Handle negotiations with suppliers and procurement of package materials for grape and stonefruit packaging.
- Managed inventory efficiently to minimize stockouts and overstock situations.
Operations manager
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd (Le Roux Group)
Piketberg, South Africa
04.2022 - 09.2025
- Broodkraal Landgoed is a 550ha table grape farm, the biggest single standing table grape farm in the Southern hemisphere. We specialize in exporting top quality table grapes all around the world, producing around 2.5 million cartons.
- Handled negotiations with suppliers and procurement of essential supplies for daily operations.
- Analyzing and providing feedback on the quarterly production costs across all farms.
- Procuring package materials needed at four packhouses during a two/three-month period of packing table grapes for 24 hours 5 days a week
- Managed inventory efficiently to minimise stockouts and overstock situations.
- Ensure logistics align with the changing requirements of the packhouses.
- Identify bottlenecks and constantly seeking improvement in operational systems.
- Managing the coordination of construction and renovation projects.
- Site manager during the construction phase of a 3.2MW solar farm.
- Employment Equity Manager.
Production assistant
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd (Le Roux Group)
Piketberg, South Africa
10.2021 - 04.2022
- Overseeing and training workers daily to ensure that they are able to do the job at hand.
- Supervise the workers and make sure that the work is done to standard.
- Reporting directly to the farm manager providing updates on the progress of the work.
- Overseeing the training of harvest teams, making sure they understand the proper techniques to handle grapes carefully to avoid damage.
- Making sure that the harvesting team works efficiently to provide the packhouse with enough grapes for the entire shift.
- Inspecting grapes for quality, ensuring that they meet the required standards for color, size, and firmness as they are being packed.
Research assistant
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa
02.2019 - 10.2021
- Responsible for assisting in the department with research in the field of Agricultural Economics.
- Tutored Agricultural Economics modules to undergraduate students.
Mixed Farming Farm Hand (Part Time)
Valrena Trust
Douglas, South Africa
01.2016 - 12.2020
- Management of the lucern, maize and wheat enterprises including procurement, planting and harvesting.
- Management of the sheep and cattle enterprises.
Education
Master of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa04.2022
Bachelor of Science Hons - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa12.2020
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
Bloemfontein, South Africa12.2019
Skills
Building operational procedures
Data analyzing and report writing
Project Management
Resilience in high-pressure situations
Continuous Improvement implementation
Logistics coordination
Inventory management
Academic Achievements
Affiliations
- Fitness
- Woodwork
- Golf
Refrences
Mr. G. van Deventer
Estate Manager - Broodkraal Landgoed
+27 82 443 1601
george@lerouxgroup.co.za
Mr. I. van der Westhuizen
Technical Manager - Broodkraal Landgoed
+27 72 577 0074
sakkie@lerouxgroup.co.za
Mr. G. Robbertze
Marketing Manager - Le Roux Group
+27 78 480 8069
gerhard@lerouxgroup.co.za
Timeline
Operations Manager
Le Roux Fruit Exporters (Le Roux Group)
05.2025 - Current
Operations manager
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd (Le Roux Group)
04.2022 - 09.2025
Production assistant
Broodkraal Landgoed (Pty) Ltd (Le Roux Group)
10.2021 - 04.2022
Research assistant
University of the Free State
02.2019 - 10.2021
Mixed Farming Farm Hand (Part Time)
Valrena Trust
01.2016 - 12.2020
Bachelor of Science Hons - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
Bachelor of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State
Master of Science - Agriculture Economics
University of the Free State