People moves
30 June 2017 MMI has promoted Mary Vilakazi (pictured), nominated for the 2017 CFO of the Year Awards, to the role of deputy CEO. In her new role, Mary will be responsible for driving the effective implementation of MMI’s plans. 28 June 2017 Despite recently saying he would be retiring, Tyrone Soondarjee, previously financial director at the Sasfin Group, has been appointed Cell C’s new chief financial officer, effective 1 July 2017. Soondarjee will take over from Robert Pasley, who will return to his original role as chief strategy officer. 24 June 2017 Johnny Dladla (pictured) has been appointed acting group chief executive of Eskom, with immediate effect. This after Public Enterprises minister Lynne Brown ordered Eskom to rescind Brian Molefe’s reappointment as the power utility’s chief executive late last month. 22 June 2017 Lushen Pather (pictured), CFO of Sasfin Bank Limited and Sasfin Holdings Limited, who was nominated for this year's CFO Awards, has been appointed acting group financial director, effective 1 July 2017, until such time as a permanent replacement is appointed. This as Tyrone Soondarjee, existing group FD, will be retiring from the Sasfin board and subsidiary boards, effective 30 June 2017. 18 June 2017 Abigail Mukhuba (pictured), the current CFO of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), has been appointed FD, with effect from 11 December 2017. Mukhuba replaces outgoing FD, Mike Arnold, who reaches ARM’s retirement age of 60 in July. 16 June 2017 JSE-listed African Oxygen (Afrox) has appointed Matthias Vogt (pictured) as its new CFO and executive director. Vogt, who joined Afrox as finance GM in July 2015, will replace outgoing CFO Dorian Devers, from 1 August this year. 11 June 2017 Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo announced during a cabinet meeting late last week that Dondo Mogajane (pictured) has been appointed the new director general of National Treasury. Cabinet has approved the appoinement. 10 June 2017 Kenny Fihla (pictured) has been appointed Chief Executive of Standard Bank’s Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) division, effective immediately. Kenny takes over from David Munro, who will be fulfilling the role of CEO at Liberty, also part of the Standard Bank Group. 31 May 2017 Standard Bank corporate and investment banking (CIB) CEO David Munro (pictured) has taken over as CEO of Liberty in the wake of Thabo Dloti’s unexpected departure. Standard Bank holds a 54 percent share in Liberty. 27 May 2017 Former Massmart executive Grant Pattison (pictured) has been appointed Edcon CEO, his primary aim to assemble a new board with retail experience and hopefully pull the struggling retail group out of the doldrums. 24 May 2017 The chairperson, a board member and the CFO are leaving JSE-listed Lewis Group. Lewis said in a statement that David Nurek, Lewis chairperson, had advised the board that he plans to retire after serving as a director and chairman since the group’s listing on the JSE in 2004. Les Davies, who has served as the group’s CFO and financial director since 1989, advised the board that he would be stepping down as CFO and as an executive director of the group. Davies will continue to serve as CEO of the group’s short-term insurer, Monarch Insurance. 23 May 2017 Following a robust recruitment process in evaluating external and internal candidates, Pioneer Food Group, the South Africa-based food and drinks group, has appointed Felix Lombard as its new CFO. Cindy Hess held the CFO role until late 2016, a tenure which saw her nominated for the 2016 CFO of the Year Awards. 15 May 2017 Asher Bonbot (pictured), a prior member of the CFO Awards judging panel and the founder and CEO of EOH, a large technology services group, has announced that he will be leaving the JSE-listed company at the end of June. Zunaid Mayet has been appointed group CEO to replace him. 12 May 2017 National carrier South African Airways (SAA) has appointed Phumeza Nhantsi as its new permanent CFO. According to a statement by SAA, Nhantsi has served in an acting capacity since November 2015, following Wolf Meyer’s departure. 04 May 2017 Rajesh Mahabeer, previously CFO of SANParks, has moved to Garuda Capital, effective 1 May 2017. His new role as Head of Public Sector Finance and Deal Origination will see him working in the space of mergers and acquisitions and funds mobilisation. 27 April 2017 Effective 1 May, Robert Lumb (pictured) will be the new financial director of Interwaste. Lumb takes over from Andre Broodryk, who was nominated for the CFO Awards in 2015. Broodryk left in January this year to pursue personal interests. 19 April 2017 Raj Jandu (pictured) has been appointed Neotel CFO – a role that has stood empty since late 2015. Jandu joins Neotel from Liquid Telecom, where he has been CFO for the East Africa region since 2013. Liquid Telecom group officially acquired Neotel earlier this year, at a cost of R6.55 billion. 08 April 2017 Peter Riskowitz (pictured) has been appointed as CFO and executive director of Brian Joffe’s new investment firm, Long4Life, which listed yesterday on the JSE. Riskowitz’s role, which will take effect from 1 May, will include a strong focus on merger and acquisition activity for the firm. 06 April 2017 Juan Mostert has left Hitachi Data Systems Sub-Saharan Africa, where he was Head of Finance, and joined Bidvest Prestige as its CFO/Finance Director, effective 1 April. 05 April 2017 Peter Moyo (pictured), Vodacom chairman, has been headhunted by Old Mutual to head its emerging markets arm. Moyo will return to his former employer on 1 June as CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets (Omem). He will replace Ralph Mupita, who resigned in October. 04 April 2017 Fastjet, one of Africa’s newer low-cost airlines, has recruited a further two former SAA group executives as chairman and CFO: Rashid Wally and Michael Muller. 28 March 2017 Zunaid Bulbulia (pictured), former MTN CEO and one of the company’s founders, has joined telecoms service company Huge Group as its new CFO, effective 27 March. David Deetlefs, who was serving as the company’s Group FD, will remain on the board as an executive director. 26 March 2017 The appointment of a new CEO at SAA will soon be finalised, or so said Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in a recent letter to Baleka Mbete, the Speaker of the National Assembly, wherein he also sought permission to delay the tabling of SAA's corporate plan. 17 March 2017 Jacques Roux has announced he will be leaving Oakbay Resources, where he was CEO, after just one year in the job, effective 31 March. He will be replaced by George van der Merwe, who will stand as acting CEO from 1 April. 16 March 2017 The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has appointed Sara Bux (pictured) as its new Associate Director: Southern Africa. Bux, who joined CIMA on 7 March this year, has been charged with driving the long-term Southern Africa strategy, and will report to Badibanga Promesse, the Africa Regional Vice President. 14 March 2017 Murray & Roberts has appointed Daniel Grobler (pictured) as its new group FD, effective 1 April. Grobler takes over from outgoing FD Cobus Bester, who was in the position for six years. Bester is retiring and will step down on 31 March. 13 March 2017 Nazir Alli (pictured), former CEO of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), though perhaps best known for his previous role as the champion of the e-tolling system, has been announced as the new Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) chairman, taking over from Popo Molefe. This follows Transport Minister Dipuo Peters’ announcement last week of the dissolving of the rail agency's board. 10 March 2017 KPMG International has appointed 49-year-old William (Bill) Thomas as chairman. Thomas will head up the KPMG global network of professional services firms for a four-year term, effective 1 October 2017. He takes over from outgoing chairman, John Veihmeyer. 07 March 2017 Paratus Telecom, the largest privately owned pan-African telecoms operator, and which has a solid track record in the ICT sector, has appointed Stefan de Bruin as CFO for the Group. 03 March 2017 Mohammed Akoojee (pictured) has taken over from award-winning outgoing CFO Osman Arbee, as Group CFO of Imperial, effective 1 March. We spoke to Mohammed about his plans ahead. 28 February 2017 Tesla CFO Jason Wheeler has announced that he is leaving the electric vehicle manufacturer, a company started by South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk. Wheeler will be replaced by Tesla’s former CFO, Deepak Ahuja (pictured). 27 February 2017 Kevin Johnson (pictured), who was nominated for a CFO Award in 2014, is the new Vice President of Colfax Corporation. Kevin took on the role earlier this year, leaving Marinella Vigouroux in charge of finance at Howden Africa. 23 February 2017 Lekoil, a West Africa-focussed oil and gas explorer, has appointed Bruce Burrows as CFO, effective 27 February. 14 February 2017 The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) has appointed Tanya van Lill (pictured) as CEO, effective 1 March 2017. Van Lill succeeds Erika van der Merwe, who served SAVCA for over four years. 13 February 2017 Thusang Mahlangu (pictured) has succeeded Delphine Traoré Maïdou as CEO of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) Africa, effective 1 February 2017. Delphine, who was on the CFO Awards panel of judges from 2014 to 2016, will remain on the AGCS Africa Board as non-executive director. 12 February 2017 Victoria Milazi has been appointed CFO of coal mine Nkomati Anthracite, effective January this year. 10 February 2017 Anaytics specialist SAS has promoted Riad Gydien (pictured) into a Senior Regional Vice President role for the South and East EMEA regions. Gydien, a South African, was on the panel of judges for the CFO Awards 2014. Prior to this promotion he was SAS VP for the Middle East and Africa. 09 February 2017 Marinella Vigouroux has taken over from Kevin Johnson as CFO of Howden Africa. The finance department is not only a source of information but key to the business strategy and operational success of a company, she says. 06 February 2017 As outgoing CFO Megan Pydigadu has served her notice at fleet and mobile asset management solutions company MiX Telematics, the financial controller will take over. The company has announced that Paul Dell (pictured) as been appointed to the board of directors as interim CFO, effective 9 February 2017. 04 February 2017 CA(SA) Matshepo More has been appointed to the Board of the IRBA, effective 1 December 2016. More is currently the CFO and Executive Director of the Public Investment Corporation Limited (PIC), one of the largest asset managers in Africa. 01 February 2017 Popular auditing lecturer Prof Ben Marx has taken over from his long-serving colleague Alex van der Watt as head of the accounting department at the University of Johannesburg. “I am very excited to be leading the best accounting department in the country and to work with its great, hard-working staff,” said Ben, who has also been a member of the panel of judges of the CFO Awards for the last four years. 31 January 2017 Marius Bierman CA(SA) has returned to the CFO seat he held from December 2011 to December 2013, as finance head for WE Wearne, a company that produces construction materials. 30 January 2017 Lee-Anne de Bruin has been appointed CFO of Africa and Australia-focused gold miner Resolute Mining, effective 27 February 2017. She leaves her post as the regional CFO in Australia for Newmont Mining. Prior to this role she was head of project function for BHP Billiton. 22 January 2017 Cindy Hess, formerly CFO of Pioneer Foods, has taken on a new role as CFO of Media24. Media24 seems very pleased to have Cindy on board, referring to her as “an accomplished CFO”. Cindy was a finalist in the 2016 CFO of the Year Awards, for her work at Pioneer Foods. 15 January 2017 Christopher Forlee has been appointed CEO of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa). The appointment, effective 1 January 2017, will span a period of five years. Forlee will also be a full-time regulator member of Nersa. 13 January 2017 Dirk Kunz (pictured) has been appointed acting CFO of Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) following Maureen Manyama’s recent resignation as ACSA CFO and executive director. 09 January 2017 Les Wood (pictured), currently VP of finance and commercial, has been appointed Tullow Oil’s interim CFO while Ian Springett, the actual finance head, is off on an extended leave of absence for medical treatment. 20 December 2016 Royal Dutch Shell has a new CFO: Jessica Uhl (pictured). Uhl takes over from Simon Henry, who has held the role for the past seven years. 13 December 2016 Kevin Johnson has left his position as CFO of Howden Africa Holdings Limited (HAHL), moving to the Colfax Corporation where he has accepted a senior position in the company. Marinella Vigouroux (pictured) has taken over the CFO role at HAHL, effective 8 December. Vogouroux is also an Executive Director of the company. 02 December 2016 Christiaan Engelbrecht (pictured), who has worked previously for Vodacom, Deloitte UK and Deloitte, took on the role of CFO for Ster-Kinekor from 1 November. We caught up with him to find out how things are going. "If you ask how I feel about my appointment it is difficult to put into words how humbled I am to be considered for this role and how excited I am to co-create with and learn from everyone in Ster-Kinekor and Primedia.” 01 December 2016 Rowland Wallenius (pictured) has joined the senior management team of Vancouver-based, JSE-listed Eastern Platinum Limited (Eastplats) as chief financial officer and corporate secretary. Wallenius takes over from interim CFO, David Li. 26 November 2016 Lesrick Nayager (pictured) has been appointed CFO for Decision Inc., a company which represents leading global technology brands and are experts in the implementation, support and execution of such technologies. 08 November 2016 Graeme Stephens (pictured), the CEO of South African hotels and casinos operator Sun International, will be stepping down from his role at the end of April 2017 to take up the role of CEO at SkyCity Entertainment Group. He will be replaced by Anthony Leeming, the company’s current CFO. Leeming has been with the group for 17 years, having joined as group financial manager in 1999. He held various group finance roles prior to his appointment as CFO in March 2013. He will take over the CEO role effective 1 May 2017. Stephens has been with the group for more than five years. As yet, no announcement has been made regarding the replacement CFO. 05 November 2016 JSE-listed exploration and development company Kumba Iron Ore has announced the appointments of Nonkululeko Dlamini and Seamus French as non-executive directors to the Board, effective 1 November 2016. 02 November 2016 Telecoms giant MTN has named Ralph Mupita (pictured), Old Mutual Emerging Markets chief, as its new group chief financial officer, effective April 2017. Gunter Engling, acting group CFO, will assume the position of deputy CFO, MTN said in a statement. 20 October 2016 Lafarge Africa has announced the appointment of a new CFO, Bruno Bayet (pictured), effective 1 October 2016. Prior to becoming CFO of Lafarge Africa Bayet was the Strategy Director; a position he held since April this year. Bayet, a Belgian, was Manager, Corporate Finance, with PwC from 1998 to 2005, and Senior Analyst in the Investments team of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert from 2005 to 2011. Before joining Lafarge, Bayet was an executive committee member of Enterprise Generale Malta Forrest (RDC) from 2011 to 2013, having gained over 15 years of experience in the construction and materials industry. He was appointed Director of Ashakacem Plc in later 2013, combining the role of CFO in September 2014. Bayet holds a Business Engineering degree from Universite Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium, and completed his Master’s in Business Administration at Georgetown University, specialising in Financial Risks Management. 18 October 2016 Standard Chartered has appointed Mohamed Abdel Bary (pictured) as Regional CFO, Africa & Middle East (AME), with immediate effect. Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO for Africa & the Middle East, said following the announcement: 12 September 2016 Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Katanga Mining Limited, which operates a major mine complex in the DRC, producing refined copper and cobalt, has appointed Jacques Lubbe (pictured) as CFO, effective 15 October 2016. Lubbe, CA (SA) and a 2014 Top 35-under-35 finalist, previously held the CFO position at Katanga between November 2013 and February 2015. Prior to this he held the CFO position at Mutanda Mining SARL, another company within the Glencore group. He rejoins the Company from Glencore, where he has been Asset Manager from March 2015 to now. Lubbe takes over from outgoing CFO Matthew Colwill, who will be leaving on 15 October to pursue other opportunities within the Glencore group. Colwill will, however, remain available to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. 30 August 2016 Following a six-month search to find a replacement for CEO Edward Kieswetter, who left the group in February to pursue other interests, Alexander Forbes has appointed financial services veteran Andrew Darfoor (pictured). Darfoor will assume the role of CEO from 1 September, relieving acting group CEO and CFO, Deon Viljoen. 26 August 2016 Rhino Resources, a global energy company, has announced the addition of London-based CFO Rob Tims to its leadership team. Tims, a 25-year veteran of the oil and gas industry and whose experience spans operations, finance, banking and consulting, has for the past 10 years, served as Managing Director with responsibility for Africa at Standard Chartered Bank. Patrick Mulligan, Rhino Resources President and CEO, said of Tims’ appointment: 23 August 2016 Nombali Mbambo has been appointed as an executive director and CFO of Adapt IT, effective 18 August 2016. Mbambo, a CA, completed her articles at Ernst & Young prior to joining Alexander Forbes as an accounting specialist. Thereafter, she joined the debt capital market team at ABSA Capital, later moving to the loan capital market team. Here she was responsible for originating, structuring and executing corporate loan facilities. From 2013 until she joined Adapt IT in March 2016 as CFO elect, Mbambo held the role of Finance Business Partner involved in strategic decision-making and financial management at Unilever. In her new role at Adapt IT, Mbambo’s responsibilities will include contributing to the strategic direction of Adapt IT, being accountable for the group’s finance function, involvement in mergers and acquisitions, funding and capital structuring and investor relations. 31 July 2016 Cloud accounting software company Xero, which officially launched in South Africa in May, has appointed Colin Timmis (pictured) as its new head of accounting in SA. 01 July 2016 Govinder Sateesh Kamath has been appointed the new Safaricom CFO, effective 1 August, following the recalling of CFO John Tombleson earlier this week. 30 June 2016 MTN has appointed Adekunle Awobodu (pictured) as its new MTN Nigeria (MTNN) CFO. Awobodu, the first Nigerian to occupy this position, takes over from Ferdi Moolman, who became CEO of the company in December last year. Moolman was quoted in the media as saying: 19 August 2015 As of end July 2015, Gustav Raubenheimer is CFO Designate of Good Bank (African Bank) and its new holding company.Mary Vilakazi new MMI deputy CEO
Tyrone Soondarjee new Cell C CFO
Eskom appoints Johnny Dladla as acting group exec
Lushen Pather appointed acting group FD of Sasfin
Abigail Mukhuba replaces Mike Arnold as FD of ARM
Afrox appoints Matthias Vogt as new CFO
Dondo Mogajane new Treasury DG
Kenny Fihla new CIB CEO
David Munro new Liberty CEO
Grant Pattison, ex Massmart chief, new Edcon CEO
Management shake-up at Lewis; CFO among those leaving
Felix Lombard new Pioneer Foods CFO
Asher Bohbot, EOH CEO, steps down, Zunaid Mayet takes over
SAA appoints new CFO, OUTA objects
Rajesh Mahabeer joins Garuda Capital from SANParks
Robert Lumb takes over as Interwaste FD
Raj Jandu new Neotel CFO
Peter Riskowitz new Long4Life CFO
Juan Mostert joins Bidvest Prestige as CFO
Vodacom's Peter Moyo joins Old Mutual
More former SAA execs join fastjet
Zunaid Bulbulia new Huge Group CFO
New SAA CEO to be appointed soon
Oakbay Resources gets new CEO and FD
Sara Bux to head CIMA Southern Africa
Daniel Grobler new Murray & Roberts Group FD
Former Sanral CEO new Prasa chairman
Bill Thomas new KPMG Global Chairman
Stefan de Bruin new Paratus Telecom CFO
Mohammed Akoojee new Group CFO of Imperial
Former Tesla CFO Deepak Ahuja rejoins as CFO
Kevin Johnson new VP for Colfax Corporation
Bruce Burrows joins Lekoil as finance head
Tanya van Lill new SAVCA CEO
Thusang Mahlangu new head of Allianz Global Corporate & Speciality (AGCS) Africa
Victoria Milazi new Nkomati CFO
Riad Gydien is SAS's new Senior Regional VP for Europe
Marinella Vigouroux new Howden Africa CFO
MiX Telematics still looking for CFO, interim CFO Paul Dell appointed
PIC CFO Matshepo More joins IRBA board
Prof Ben Marx heads accounting department UJ
Marius Bierman returns to WE Wearne as CFO
Lee-Anne de Bruin appointed new Resolute CFO
Cindy Hess new CFO of Media24
New boss for Nersa: Christopher Forlee
Dirk Kunz new acting CFO of ACSA, replacing Maureen Manyama
Les Wood named interim CFO of Tullow Oil
Jessica Uhl succeeds Simon Henry as Shell CFO
Marinella Vigouroux new Howden Africa CFO, replacing Kevin Johnson
Christiaan Engelbrecht joins Ster-Kinekor as CFO
Rowland Wallenius joins Eastplats as CFO & Corporate Secretary
Lesrick Nayager takes up CFO post at Decision Inc
Anthony Leeming, Sun International CFO, becomes CEO
IDC CFO Nonkululeko Dlamini joins Kumba Iron Ore as director
Ralph Mupita new MTN CFO
Bruno Bayet new CFO for Lafarge Africa
Mohamed Abdel Bary appointed new Regional CFO for Standard Chartered
Jacques Lubbe appointed CFO at Katanga Mining Ltd
Andrew Darfoor appointed new Alexander Forbes CEO
Rob Tims named new Rhino Resources CFO
Nombali Mbambo new CFO of Adapt IT
Xero appoints Colin Timmis as SA head of accounting
Govinder Sateesh Kamath new Safaricom CFO
Adekunle Awobodu new CFO of MTN Nigeria
Gustav Raubenheimer appointed as CFO of African Bank