Gary Sharp

Gary Sharp completed his tertiary education in Harare, being awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1978 and then a Master of Science degree (Tropical Resource Ecology) by the University of Zimbabwe in 1982 whilst serving with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management as a Senior Ecologist. Gary spent five years of his service with the Wildlife Department in the Gonarezhou National Park where he was responsible for all ecological and research responsibilities as well as contributing to the overall management of the northern sub-region of the Park. Gary Sharp maintains a deep passion and interest in wildlife conservation despite no longer being in an active role.

In 1988 Gary joined the private sector being engaged by the Lonhro Zimbabwe Group to develop a wildlife utilisation programme on the extensive ranching properties owned by the Group. In line with this brief, he established Savannah Wildlife as the operating company incorporating an extensive domestic ostrich production operation; a consumptive and non-consumptive safari operation based out of Central Estates in the Midlands, plus sustained yield capture and cropping operations on the various Lonhro Zimbabwe Group ranches. These activities were conducted on seven properties totalling a quarter of a million hectares and managed primarily as extensive cattle production operations.

Gary joined Innscor in 2000 as Chief Executive Officer of their Niloticus Division, which incorporated at that time, the Ume and Kariba Farms only. In this capacity he has developed a team of top quality skilled and professional people that are the strength of the business today. Together with them, he has overseen the improvements and expansion to the current production levels and the standards of skin quality achieved today. The Niloticus Division unbundled from Innscor in November 2010 through a listing on the ZSE and Gary has continued to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the new entity renamed as Padenga Holdings Limited since that date.