Francois started his professional career as an economist at Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates (WEFA) Inc, a USA-based commercial think tank founded by Nobel Prizewinner Dr Lawrence Klein. At Wharton, his responsibilities included macro-economic modelling and econometric analysis of selected Sub-Sahara African countries.

He went on to Barclays Capital as a treasury economist where he focused on fixed income and economic research to institutional investors and provided strategic economic and interest rate research input, to the group’s (ALCO) Asset and Liability Committee.

He progressed to a boutique bank and derivatives structuring house (Corp Capital Bank) where he was part of the team, which originated South Africa’s 1st passive investment tracking fund (Exchange Traded Fund) today known as SATRIX. Other areas of focus included various applications of derivative structures to tailor niche payoff profiles for institutional investors.
At Global Insight Inc., his responsibilities included diversification of economics research offerings to corporate and government entities, where he participated in several ad hoc economic research projects and model simulations of alternative scenarios for policy changes. He was part of the research team that founded the ReX (Regional Economic Explorer), an integrated sub-national database of economic and social economic statistics.

Since 2008’s electricity load shedding crises, he focused on energy economics and tariff-related industry research as well as financial modelling of electricity load limiting projects and underground coal gasification projects. He presented various financial model methodologies and sensitivity characteristics to project stakeholders and was part of a multi-disciplinary team focused on an array of energy-related projects.

He recently acted as a financial economics advisor to the Reserve Bank of South Africa (SARB). Focus was directed within the Financial Markets Department and at the modernisation of South Africa’s FX reserves management as well as the implementation of international asset management best practice. Subsequently, he advised the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Independent Power Producers (IPP) on the financial funding challenges facing a sustainable IPP Program, with particular focus on renewable energy financing.

He is a graduate from the North-West University’s Potchefstroom Campus where he majored in Economics, Mathematics and Statistics. He recently joined the North-West University in their spin-out company Trade Research Advisory, as an advisor.