SpaceX said it had elected Roelof Botha, a long-time Sequoia Capital investor, to join the board as an independent director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move comes less than a week after the Elon Musk-led company\u2019s record-setting initial public offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Botha would be joining as an independent director and be part of the audit committee effective immediately, according to a SpaceX filing on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Botha, a South African like Musk, was the chief financial officer at PayPal Holdings when Musk was CEO more than two decades ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is the grandson of South Africa\u2019s longest-serving foreign minister, Pik Botha, and the son of well-known economist Dr Roelof Botha. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born in Pretoria in September 1973, Botha was raised in Cape Town after his family moved to Hout Bay early in his childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He attended Ho\u00ebrskool Jan van Riebeeck and flourished academically. After matriculating, he studied a BSc degree in actuarial science, economics, and statistics at the University of Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Botha landed a job as a business analyst at consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in Johannesburg, where he worked for three years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two years into his job, he enrolled at Stanford University for an MBA and graduated at the top of his class. Soon thereafter, he was introduced to Musk by a mutual friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musk convinced Botha to join X.com, the predecessor to PayPal, where he would rise to the position of chief financial officer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Botha joined Sequoia in 2003 and is credited with spearheading its investments in YouTube, Instagram, biotech firm 23andMe, and software company MongoDB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had been stewarding the Sequoia partnership since 2017, when he led the firm\u2019s US and European business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n