Board of Directors

Wayne Duvenage

Avis chief executive Wayne Duvenage has been in the car rental industry for over 20 years and the tourism industry for more than 26 years.  He first joined Avis in 1984 after completing a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal as a dispatcher / trainee manager in Durban. Duvenage quickly progressed through the ranks within the operations division and was appointed director of operations – Southern Africa in 1996. 

In 2001 he left the industry for five years to build a luxury hotel and conference venue in the Magaliesburg with his wife, Helen, which is still owned by the family..

In 2003, Duvenage was approached by the Chairperson of SAVRALA (the industry body – SA Vehicle Renting and Leasing Assoc) to take up the role of GM of SAVRALA to drive projects and represent the industry within the various government, transport and tourism bodies.

In 2006, Duvenage accepted the position of operations director at Avis Rent a Car and in 2007 Duvenage he was appointed managing director of the company. In 2008 he was appointed chief executive Avis Rent a Car.

In his spare time, Duvenage enjoys spending time with his family and friends, travelling and playing golf.

Rainer Gottschick

In his role as executive for commercial and regional countries, Rainer Gottschick heads up all the co-brand businesses for Avis in South Africa. This includes Avis Luxury Cars, Avis Point 2 Point, Avis Chauffeur Drive and Avis Truck Rental, as well as Avis licensee businesses incorporating Van Rental and Coach Charter. In addition, he is responsible for Avis Rent a Car and Avis Chauffeur Drive in the rest of Southern Africa including Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, Zambia and Madagascar.

Gottschick joined Avis in 1998 as financial manager for co-brands and regional countries. He was appointed group financial manager for Avis Southern Africa in 2000 and at the end of 2004 he was promoted to general manager regional countries. In 2007 he was appointed to his current role.

Having graduated from the University of Pretoria in 1994, Gottschick completed his articles at Ernst &Young and qualified as a chartered accountant.  His four years at Ernst & Young included a secondment to Ernst & Young in the United Kingdom.

Gottschick believes in doing things right the first time and his personal philosophy is; “Get the basics right to ensure a solid foundation and truly understand your customer’s needs.”

When he’s not at the coalface, Gottschick enjoys golf, travelling, the outdoors and spending time with his family.

Lance Smith

As strategic director, Lance Smith is responsible for the implementation of key strategies within Avis Southern Avis. His portfolio includes revenue management, overseeing the project office, tracking the company’s BBBEE rating and managing the customer service team.

After graduating from the University of Cape Town with a Bcom CTA in 1983, Smith completed his articles at Coopers & Lybrand to qualify as a chartered accountant. His first job was as a group accountant for Longmile Limited. In 1990 he moved over to Longmile Group company, Grapnel / Kwikfit as the financial director. When the business was bought by Bosal Afrika, Smith moved to Pretoria where he was employed as their sales and marketing director.

In February 1999 he accepted the position of sales and marketing director at Avis. He remained in the role until 2003 when he was promoted to his current position.

Smith grew up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and lives by a credo his grandfather instilled in him when he was six-years old: “Seek ye the best in every man and speak of him the best ye can, then will all men speak well of ye and say how kind at heart ye be “

Married for 22 years, this father of three teenagers, is an active sportsman and enjoys playing tennis and golf and going to the gym. He is particularly fond of fly fishing, which has replaced his childhood obsession with cricket.

Corne Langenhoven

Corné Langenhoven is executive operations at Avis Rent a Car, a position he has held since 2007. He oversees Avis’ mammoth rental operations in South Africa, comprising more than 100 branches, over 850 people and a fleet of 18,000 vehicles.

Langenhoven has been in the motor game all his working life. After a stint in Auto Finance, a division of Santambank, he joined Avis in 1988 as sales executive at Avis Fleet Services. In 1993 he was appointed regional sales manager for the Western Cape and in 1996 regional manager for Gauteng. One year later he was appointed general manager for Fleet Accident Management (a division of Avis Fleet Services), a position he held until 1999 when he was appointed general manager for Avis Fleet Services Botswana. In 2002 Avis Rent a Car Botswana was added to his portfolio.

At the end of 2004, Langenhoven returned to South Africa as Avis Rent a Car licensee manager responsible for all regional countries. In 2005 he accepted the position of commercial director responsible for regional countries, Luxury Collection, Van Rental and Truck Rental. Two years later he was appointed to his current position.

Langenhoven completed a management advancement programme at Wits Business School in 2002 and an executive development programme at the Gordon’s Institute of Business in 2008.

When he’s not overseeing operations at Avis, Langehoven enjoys a game of golf and fly-fishing – his greatest passion. He’s also an avid sports fan and enjoys keeping up with international and local sporting events. He is married to Karen and they have two children, Philip-Barry (12) and Claire (10).