Our Team
Joseph Plastow
Director
Joseph Plastow was born in England and educated in South Africa. He qualified as a Certified Internal Auditor in 1991 while employed as Internal Auditor at Safmarine, an international shipping business offering container and break-bulk shipping services worldwide.
Joe has been resident in the Isle of Man since 1995. He relocated from Cape Town to set up the financial management function for the offshore businesses of Safmarine. His portfolio of companies owned and chartered container vessels and leased containers. In addition, there were marine manning businesses including the marine personnel payroll.
On the disposal of Safmarine to A.P. Moller-Maersk group, Joe became Practice Manager at Moore Stephens, before joining Onyx in 2000 where he was appointed Director in 2001. Onyx Management was amongst the first firms to be licensed under the Isle of Man Corporate Services Providers Act 2000. Joe was promoted to Managing Director of this regulated business and held a number of key roles at various time including MLRO and Authorised Officer of the Class 4 and Class 5 business. The regulated fiduciary business of Onyx was sold to Baker Tilly Isle of Man Fiduciaries in 2016 and Joe managed the transition of clients and staff.
Joe has over 25 years’ experience advising large corporate customers in the British Isles and sub -Saharan Africa. He is the Isle of Man resident director of Onyx Worldwide Holdings Group, representing the group on the boards of several group companies in the Isle of Man, Dubai and South Africa.
Collin Ellis FCCA
Director
Colin Ellis is currently CEO of the Onyx Worldwide Group, Financial Director and co-founder of Onyx Capital Partners Limited (an authorised and regulated company under the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom) and Senior Partner of London based Chartered Accountants, Anstey Bond LLP. Founded in January 2011, Anstey Bond provides accounting, tax and advisory services to private individuals, and private and public companies. Colin also holds a number of directorships providing financial knowledge for companies from start-ups to listed companies which has, over 30 years in the finance industry, led to a sound knowledge of running companies in United Kingdom and internationally. Colin has also acted as advisor and auditor to companies registered with the Financial Conduct Authority in London, as well as handling corporate finance matters with a number of Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and other junior market public listings, including companies in the mining and innovation technology sectors. Colin is the CEO of Cu29 and has been instrumental in its establishment to date.
Michelle Amyot, BA LLB
Director
Michelle Amyot is an executive of Onyx Worldwide Holdings and Onyx Capital Partners. She sits on a number of the Group’s subsidiary boards. Michelle has over 25 years of legal, merchant and investment banking, advisory, and venture capital experience. Her expertise lies in corporate finance, private equity, corporate advisory services and general merchant banking activities. Her experience in these fields was built over a period of time with such institutions as Imara Corporate Finance Zimbabwe (formerly Robert Fleming), the Merchant Banking Division of Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe Limited (Barclays Capital), Merchant Bank of Central Africa Limited, PWC and the Hawkwood Group, amongst others. Michelle holds a BA LLB (Honours) Degree from Rhodes University and was admitted in 1991 as a Legal Practitioner under the auspices of The Law Society of Zimbabwe. She qualified as a Legal Practitioner at Wintertons, Harare.
Peter Surgey BA LLB
Advisory Board Member
Stephen Conradie, BL LLB, MBA
Director
Stephen Conradie is a Director and member of the advisory board of Onyx Worldwide Holdings. He is the former founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed DNA Supply Chains. He was also founder and Chief Executive of XPS Services, a joint venture with Safmarine and Rennies Holdings. XPS was a past winner of South Africa’s Non-Listed Company of the Year. Stephen serves on a number of investee-company boards. He is recognised as one of the leading authorities on Fourth Party Logistics in Southern Africa and represents Onyx’s interests in Nucleus Mining Logistics and Nucleus SCM South Africa. Born in Zimbabwe, he qualified as an Advocate of the High Court and also holds a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration from the University of Cape Town.
Peter Surgey is a member of the advisory board of Onyx Worldwide Holdings. He was Managing Director of Plascon and Chief Executive Officer of Barloworld Coatings from 1992 to 2003. Peter attained his BA LLB qualification from the University of Cape Town. He was a board member and director of Barloworld Limited from 1995 to 2008 and a shareholder and director of NCS Resins, Control Instruments and Freeworld Coatings. Peter was Chairman of Nampak Limited and is Chairman of Eazi Access Rentals and Autozone, both members of the Ethos Private Equity group.
Richard Barlow BL LLB MBA
Director, Onyx Corporate Australia
Richard Barlow is head of Onyx's operations in Australia. Previously Corporate Counsel to the Altron Group in South Africa, Richard holds BL LLB MBA and Tax qualifications from the Universities of Rhodesia and Cape Town. He has been in Australia since 1997 and has been responsible for developing the Group's growing footprint in that region. Interests include Active Supply Chains and Onyx Ventures Australia, The latter uses Richard's extensive M&A expertise to help Australian clients to prepare and sell their businesses.
​​​
Mike has spent the majority of his professional career working within the Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) industry and this has given him extensive knowledge of global markets and regional / country business practices. This included senior executive roles with SGS, initially in North America and then in Geneva as the Global EVP Minerals Services. In these roles he spent considerable time in all of the world’s major commodity producing and processing countries and from this gained an in-depth knowledge of supply chains and ESG related regulation and compliance.
​
In 2017 Mike set up his own Business Advisory and Consulting business, TICC LLC, working primarily with Private Equity funds, Family Investment Offices and entrepreneurs, across many areas of Business Services, to assist them in developing and executing their investment theses and sector or business growth strategies. He holds a number of company board and advisor roles in UK, Africa and America. Mike served as Board member of the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI) between 2005 and 2016, and Founding President of the IPMI European Chapter between 2013 to 2015, ​He was a British Swiss Chamber of Commerce (BSCC) Council member from 2013-2016, UK Chapter Vice Chair and then Chair between 2016 and 2022 and remains an active member of the organisation.
​