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André van Eck
André van Eck is a South African speaker, educator, author, and art collector.

Education
Van Eck holds a bachelor's degree with majors in English and history from the University of South Africa. His degree was conferred upon him by Thabo Mbeki, Chancellor of the University of South Africa and the former President of the Republic of South Africa. Additionally, Van Eck also completed a certificate in HIV Care and Counselling from the same institution. He then completed a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate at the Stellenbosch University Language Centre. He has also completed several short courses from online learning platforms delivered by both universities and private educational companies.

Early Career
After leaving high school Van Eck worked for a major South African retailing company and was promoted to a supervisory position within one year.

Teaching Career
After a few years in the business sector, he went to university and after obtaining his degree he went on to pursue his true passion of education. Throughout his teaching career he has taught in a variety of educational settings including foreign language, special needs, adult, and secondary school education. Van Eck has also spent time tutoring students from primary school to college level on a one-to-one basis. He has also held the position of Subject Head of English within secondary school education.

Speaking Career
Van Eck was a protégé of international speaker and former President of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa (PSASA), Dr. Gustav Gous, who mentored Van Eck when he started his speaking career. Dr. Gous is a Speaker Hall of Fame Inductee of both the Southern African Speakers Association and Professional Speakers Association of Namibia (PSAN). Dr. Gous is also a Certified Speaking Professional and with this CSP designation holds the highest designation in the world for professional speaking. Van Eck has since spoken at several events and to audiences that included CEOs and directors of major national companies in South Africa. Some of the other organizations he spoke at includes the likes of the SABPP - the South African Board for People Practices, the professional body for Human resources practitioners in South Africa.

Writing
In March of 2023, Van Eck published his first ebook, Strategies to Advance Your Career. The book is a synthesis of various academic disciplines including business, history, psychology, management science, philosophy, sociology, education, and leadership. It ranked #211 globally on Amazon's Psychology Education and Training (Kindle Store) category book sales ranking during April of 2023. He is currently working on his second book.

Art Collection
Van Eck owns a total of seven artworks that includes works by Pieter Hugo Naudé, Gregoire Boonzaier, Thomas William Bowler, Edward Roworth, and Tinus de Jongh. His private collection is officially known as the André van Eck Collection. His painting 'Bain's Kloof' by Thomas Bowler was previously part of The Late Sol Munitz Collection, a distinguished collection that comprised of a body of work that signified an important part of South Africa's artistic history. One of the Naudé works in his collection is a watercolor painting, 'Cape Coastal Scene' that was painted in 1907. At the time of acquisition in February 2020, Van Eck became only the 6th person at that time to privately own a Hugo Naudé in his and Naudé’s hometown of Worcester. An artwork from Van Eck's collection, 'Farmhouse' by Hugo Naudé has been featuring as one of the cover photos of the website hugonaude.com since February 2023. Additionally, a Tinus de Jongh artwork in his collection is was framed at the former Strydom Art Gallery in George that also housed the The Professor Leon Strydom Collection. It is disputed that the work possibly could have been part of The Professor Leon Strydom Collection. This links Van Eck's collection to another important art collection in South African art history.

Personal life
Van Eck is of Dutch, French, German and Italian ancestry. As a historian, Van Eck also studies family history. His great-grandfather, Victor Hugo was a rebel fighter in the South African War (1899-1902) and there is an extract dedicated to him in the book, ''Oorlogsavonture van Genl. Wynand Malan (English: War Adventures of General Wynand Malan)'' by the author, H. J. C. Pieterse that was published by Nasionale Pers in 1941.

Van Eck's father’s cousin also named Victor Hugo, is a former professor of Organic Chemistry, who lectured and conducted research and served as the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Prof. Vic Hugo also served on the Western Province Rugby Union Board and he is the father of professional golfer Jean Hugo, who was the winner of the Finnish Open in 2000 and is placed 6th on the all-time winners list of the Sunshine Tour, with 19 tournament victories.