Jaco du Plessis

Jaco du Plessis is a pharmacist who studied at Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (now NorthWest University), where he met his wife, Hanna. After his internship, he worked with the Pharmarama group and later opened his own independent pharmacy in Potchefstroom. Subsequently, he joined the Purchase, Milton and Associates group, which managed the Link and LinkMax pharmacy chains.

In 2003, Jaco became a practice manager at Intercare Medical and Dental group and was promoted to New Business Development Manager in 2007. In 2012, he accepted a position as general manager with the Leading pharmacy group, relocating his family to Delmas, Mpumalanga. Under his leadership, the group was rebranded as The Local Choice pharmacy franchise in 2015 and expanded from 4 to over 230 pharmacies by 2025, focusing on family values and strong support for independent pharmacists.

Jaco advocates for an owner-manager business model supported by robust back-office systems to help independent pharmacies thrive. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing and mountain biking and is an avid reader of management books, non-fiction, and travel magazines.