The Team
Grasp’s senior team is actively involved in delivering our services to ensure that the project sponsors’ expectations are met and managed effectively.
Chris Lourens – CEO
Chris has spent his entire working career in financial markets. From 1994 to 1998, he was a market risk manager and group risk manager in treasury environments. In October 1998, he joined Solve Business Consulting.
Chris was introduced to the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) in 2000 when he presented on their developments at a conference in Monaco. For the next decade, he focused on implementing GIPS across South Africa nearly full-time. Over the past 12 years, he has advised numerous firms on their GIPS strategies and manages GIPS processes for clients annually.
Chris has spoken about GIPS at several international and local conferences. Chris is internationally recognised for his expertise. In 2023, he was elected as a distinguished committee member for the CFA Institute’s GIPS Promotion Subcommittee, solidifying his influence within the global GIPS community. In 2024 Chris was elected as a member of the CFA GIPS Verification Subcommittee. He has appeared as a guest on an EBNET podcast in South Africa and on the TSG podcast. He wrote an article titled “The Importance of Good Quality Verification,” which was published in the TSG Journal of Performance in March 2025.
Lionel De Nicola – Director
Lionel has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. In his early career, he worked as a portfolio manager for one of the largest global investment managers. He founded Solve Consulting in 1997, a specialist management consulting business in the financial services industry.
He has observed the growth in the number of GIPS-compliant firms and the resulting benefits to asset owners, whether they are large institutional investors or smaller retail investors.
Mark Solomon – Senior Consultant
Mark Solomon brings more than 15 years of experience in enterprise risk management and auditing. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and has worked on compliance, performance, financial, and risk-based audits.
Mark moved to the USA as a Senior Consultant specialising in SOX compliance. He served as Senior Risk Manager for 6 years at First National Bank, overseeing operational and IT risk for multiple departments.
Since joining Solve Consulting, Mark has been involved in various GIPS verifications and GIPS implementation projects.
