About Juan Grobler

Juan Grobler is an entrepreneur, the Founder and CEO of Global Footprints, and a board advisor. Over more than 26 years he has built businesses and applied technology, data and AI to complex industries and major capital projects, working across the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

His career has been spent building companies rather than managing established ones. He has founded three companies and sold all three, and in 2025 he bought the most recent one back to build its next chapter.

Early career: IBM and enterprise technology

Juan began his career in 1998 at IBM in South Africa as a software account manager, where he established IBM's software business in the KwaZulu-Natal region, consistently exceeded quota, and in 1999 was ranked among the top three software account managers in the country. He represented South Africa in IBM's emerging-markets business unit and was selected for IBM's Software Account Managers' Leadership Institute in Tarrytown, New York.

He went on to Affinity Logic, a joint venture of the Wooltru Group and Datatec that ran SAP and retail e-commerce systems on an outsourcing basis. There he introduced a corporate governance process for contracts management, worked on due diligence for the company's acquisitions, and was promoted to client service executive, responsible for IT strategy and delivery for clients. At CS Holdings he then led retail business development across systems integration, infrastructure and outsourcing.

Founding and selling companies

In 2004 Juan co-founded Hardware & Logistical Services (HLS), which maintained gaming and digital entertainment equipment for South Africa's casino and hospitality industry. HLS served the country's major casino and hotel groups, grew to around 70% of its market, and was sold to a South African gaming and hospitality group in 2009.

Also in 2004, Juan founded Fontanella Consulting, a management consulting firm providing ICT services to the industrial, mining, telecommunications and retail sectors, which he led as Managing Director and board member until it was sold to a listed South African technology services group in 2015.

Global Footprints

In 2015 Juan founded Global Footprints, a software platform for capital projects focused on integration, cost intelligence and project controls, now with offices in New York and Miami Beach. Its products include Global Integrator, which connects ERP, scheduling and engineering systems, and CostHub and LEMS, which give project teams real-time cost, labour and project intelligence. Global Footprints has delivered work across the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, supporting major infrastructure and industrial projects in sectors including energy, mining, transportation and the public sector.

In 2023 an AI company acquired Global Footprints. Juan stayed on as Chief Customer Service Officer through April 2025, leading the integration of the business, running the cost engineering P&L, and managing teams across the United States, South Africa, India and Australia. In June 2025 he reacquired the platform and re-established it as Global Footprints Holdings, with offices in New York and Miami Beach. He is now scaling it through strategic partnerships, product expansion and capital formation, and building it into an enterprise data and intelligence platform for major capital projects.

Technology and infrastructure

Juan's focus is technology in difficult operating environments: large projects with many contractors, systems and data sources, where decisions depend on information that rarely lines up. His background in IT strategy, governance, security and risk management shapes how he builds: integration first, then cost and project intelligence, then AI on top of one trusted picture of the data.

Leadership and boards

Juan has served on the board of his own companies and advised boards and management committees on business transformation, governance, IT strategy and risk. Since 2026 he has served on Bard College's Family Leadership Council, on its Membership & Fundraising Committee. He brings a founder's and operator's perspective to the questions boards face during growth: technology strategy, AI adoption, M&A, the founder-to-scale transition and international expansion.

Speaking and media

Juan has been interviewed for the UBS Leadership Lounge on scaling companies, exits, leadership, culture and AI, and has spoken at the Global Vision Summit as Founder of Global Footprints.

Background

Juan holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Business Administration, Marketing and Law from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (1992–1995), where he also completed further legal studies including contract, constitutional and criminal law, evidence, the interpretation of statutes and jurisprudence. He moved to the United States in 2016, speaks English and Afrikaans, and is based in New York.

Who is Juan Grobler?

Juan Grobler is a New York-based entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Global Footprints, a software platform for integration, cost intelligence and project controls on major capital projects. He has more than 26 years of experience in technology, has founded three companies and sold all three, and advises boards on technology strategy, AI, governance and growth.

Is Juan Grobler the rugby player?

No. This Juan Grobler is the technology entrepreneur and Founder of Global Footprints. The former USA Eagles rugby international of the same name is a different person.

What is Global Footprints?

Global Footprints is a capital projects software company that Juan founded in 2015, with offices in New York and Miami Beach. Its Global Integrator platform connects ERP, scheduling, engineering and field systems, and its Footprints360 products, CostHub and LEMS, give project teams real-time cost, labour, equipment and materials data. An AI company acquired Global Footprints in 2023, and Juan reacquired it in 2025 as Global Footprints Holdings.

What companies has Juan Grobler founded?

Hardware & Logistical Services (co-founded 2004, sold to a gaming and hospitality group in 2009), Fontanella Consulting (founded 2004, sold to a listed technology services group in 2015) and Global Footprints (founded 2015, sold to an AI company in 2023 and bought back in 2025).

Where did Juan Grobler study?

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Administration, Marketing and Law from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (1992–1995), with further legal studies.

Where is Juan Grobler based?

New York. He began his career in South Africa and moved to the United States in 2016.

What does Juan Grobler speak about?

Scaling companies beyond the founder, exits and acquisitions, leadership and culture, AI in decision-making, construction cost and estimating, and the data behind major infrastructure and supply chains. He has been interviewed on the UBS Leadership Lounge, was a panelist at the 2025 Global Vision Summit, and presented at the Nomitech Estimating Conference in Greece in 2024 and 2026.