David Deetlefs

David Deetlefs is Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Lionhead. He leads the firm's investment activity, overseeing origination, structuring, and execution across Lionhead’s global strategies. David brings deep expertise in transaction negotiation and complex deal structuring and guides the firm’s investment process from diligence to closing, ensuring each opportunity meets Lionhead’s standards of discipline, risk management, and long-term alignment.

David also leads the firm’s internal management, guiding the team’s focus on performance, accountability, and value creation. Before co-founding Lionhead, David was Head of M&A at Stellar Capital Partners where he was responsible for identifying investment opportunities and executing on transactions in the middle market across Africa. Previously, he was a Director at AfrAsia Corporate Finance, the investment banking arm of an African focused corporate bank, where he ran a high yield private credit investment fund. Earlier in his career David practised corporate and insolvency law at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (formerly DLA Piper).

David received a Bachelor Business Science, an LLB and a Postgraduate Diploma in Tax Law from the University of Cape Town.