Neil Hellmann is the Chairman and Founder of SGI t/a Ella Energy. Ella Energy is a functional ready-to-drink double espresso made with dairy milk, anchored in the energy drink sector, with excellent health and wellness attributes. Ella’s production facility is located in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. Neil qualified with a BSc in Mining Engineering degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1984. He started his working career with Goldfields of South Africa in 1985, working primarily underground on coal, gold & base metal mines. After 2 years he was transferred to the Head Office in Johannesburg and promoted at age 27 to lead the coal marketing division.In 1990 Neil founded his first business, Vereguard, which acted primarily as a distributor of Scandinavian products to the composites industry and grew rapidly to become one of the largest trading partners with Norway in the 'new' South Africa.Neil was a shareholder and CEO of the CHC Group. The business grew under his leadership into one of the largest privately held manufacturers and distributors of products to the chemical, plastic and mining industries in Southern Africa. CHC had agency and distribution agreements with major global manufacturers including Dow, BASF, Exxon Mobile, Beijing Henju, ANSAC, General Electric and LG amongst others.He is a YPO/WPO member and the founding Chair of the Education Outreach Network, part of the Social Entrepreneurs Network. He founded "Great to Give", a philanthropic initiate to promote compassion and education in society, as well as the Soccer Party, standing in the first freedom elections in South Africa. He is the Chairman of the School Governing Body at Llandudno Primary School.