People moves

Werner Engelbrecht has been appointed interim GM of Kyocera, replacing Wayne Holborn.

Phillip Matthee will soon be taking over from Ronel van Dijk as FD of Spur Corporation.

MultiChoice Africa CEO Tim Jacobs has joined Altron as its acting Group CFO.

Mary Vilakazi, previously deputy CEO of MMI, is the new group COO and executive director of FirstRand

Mark Steyn to replace Peter Meijer as Bidvest Group CFO

Liberty Holdings has appointed Yuresh Maharaj CA(SA) as its new Group Financial Director.

Interim CEO Johan Claassen has been appointed permanent CEO of cement maker PPC.

Netcare chairman Meyer Kahn has stepped down after 17 years, replaced by Thevendrie Brewer.

Ayanda Mafuleka was recently appointed as CFO of African Exploration, Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC).

Atlatsa Resources has appointed Shireen Stow as interim CFO, succeeding Reinhardt van Wyk.

Rivasha Maharaj has been appointed CFO of AFGRI, taking over from Johan Geel.

Dumisani Dlamini has left the National Arts Council to instead take up the role as SANParks CFO.

Risto Ketola, currently chief financial officer of MMI, has been appointed the group's FD

Wiseman Nkuhlu and Ansie Ramalho are new appointments to the KPMG board

Former Momentum MD Hillie Meyer has replaced Nicolaas Kruger as CEO of MMI

Angela Pillay has been appointed group financial director for the Sasfin board of directors

Pieter van Buuren has been appointed CFO of construction firm Basil Read

Casper Troskie has been appointed new FD of Old Mutual Emerging Markets

Elvin de Kock has been appointed CFO of Ansys, replacing Burt Lambrecht

André Koekemoer has been appointed CFO of Capital Drilling

Manie Mayman has taken over from Cindy Hess as (acting) CFO of Media24

Recent uncertainty at EOH, including a huge drop in share price, prompted ex-CEO Asher Bohbot to return

Verster takes over from Wim de Klerk, who recently announced that he would be retiring in January 2018

Alex Smith, Altron CFO, will be leaving his role end February 2018, to instead fill the CFO role at Net1 UEPS Technologies

The recently appointed public sector CFO is also the winner of the 2017 BWA award in the Government category

Coal of Africa has replaced CFO De Wet Schutte with Brenda Berlin, Impala Platinum Holdings CFO

The two retail businesses will also be merged into one, reporting into MMI deputy group CEO, Mary Vilakazi (pictured)

As of 1 December 2017, Makwana takes over from Gavin Dalgleish as Illovo Sugar South Africa chairman of the Board

South African born and educated William Etzine recently joined Trump Hotels to head up their finance department

Prof Woolard is the first woman to lead the university's faculty of economic and management sciences

Pieter van Buuren has resigned as York Timber CFO, with Gerald Stoltz filling the position in an acting capacity

As of end February, 2018 Berlin will no longer head up Impala Platinum's finance division

Kentin Welgemoed has been appointed CEO of JSE-listed Spanjaard

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has named Joubert a director of the company, effective immediately.

Naspers has announced that it has appointed Calvo Mawela as the new CEO of Multichoice South Africa

Bytes Document Solutions (BDS) has appointed Vivek Venkatkumar CA(SA) as its new financial director.

Law firm Bowmans has appointed the highly experienced Jo-Ann Pohl as CFO.

Chinese vehicle manufacturer, Beijing Automotive Group South Africa (BAIC SA) has appointed Batandwa Mdyesha (pictured) as CFO, effective immediately.

Globetrotting head of finance Wayne Beifus has left his position at British American Tobacco (BAT) South Africa, after being promoted to head of finance for the West Europe area, based in Paris.

Lushen Pather has been appointed as Divisional Head: Bank Supervision at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), starting on 1 January 2018. He was Sasfin’s chief financial officer and as acting group FD was slated to take over the reins from his long-serving predecessor Tyrone Soondarjee.

Former KPMG chairman Ahmed Jaffer, who resigned amidst the Gupta-linked upheaval at the firm, has been appointed as group CFO of Crestar Printers and Publishers, a Centurion-based business run by his children Ikraam and Salahhuddeen.

Insurance group Alexander Forbes has named Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita, former ArcelorMittal SA CEO, as the new chairperson of its board. She is the first woman chair in the company’s 82-year existence.

The Department of Public Enterprises recently announced two executive-level appointments at state arms company Denel: Odwa Mhlwana as the new group CFO and Zwelakhe Ntshepe (pictured) as the new group CEO.

Agricultural products and services provider NWK has appointed Pieter Kleingeld as its new CFO, effective 1 November. Kleingeld joined NWK in 2015 as group manager for asset management and risk services.

JSE-listed Rolfes, a chemical group, has announced that its current acting CFO Richard Buttle (pictured) will replace current but outgoing CEO, Lizette Lynch.

Frantz Scheepers has been appointed the new CFO of Clover Industries, replacing 2017 CFO Awards nominee, Elton Bosch (pictured).

Nhlamu Dlomu (pictured), KPMG South Africa’s new CEO, has announced an incoming executive team which she says will support her in “restoring public trust and rebuilding the firm”.

Izak Van der Walt took over as CFO and executive director of JSE-listed mining company Wescoal on 1 September, replacing Bothwell Mazarura, who left to pursue a role as FD at Kumba Iron Ore.

MiX Telematics has appointed Fundiswa Roji-Maplanka CA(SA) as an independent non-executive director and a member of the audit and risk committee and of the social and ethics committee, effective 3 October 2017.

Sim Tshabalala (pictured) has been appointed the sole CEO of Standard Bank Group, bringing to an end the dual role he shared with Ben Kruger. The appointment also makes Tshabalala the first black person to lead Africa’s largest lender independently.

BP Southern Africa (BPSA) has appointed its first black female, Priscillah Mabelane, to the role of CEO. Mabelane, a CA, takes over from outgoing CEO, Daniel Odogwu, on 1 September – six years after joining the organisation as CFO in 2011.

A Cabinet statement recently announced the appointment of two new executives to Broadband Infraco: Ian van Niekerk as CFO and Andrew Matseke (pictured) as CEO.

Mobile operator Cell C has appointed two new board members: Larry Nestadt (pictured) and Kuben Pillay. Nestadt, a co-founder and former director of Investec Bank, will serve as non-executive deputy chairman, while Pillay will replace Mohammed Hariri as non-executive chairman.

4 Africa Exchange (4AX) has announced two new executive appointments to its management team, namely Lindiwe Ndlela (pictured) as chief financial officer and Anthony van Eden as chief operating officer.

Westcon-Comstor Southern Africa has announced that it has appointed Rakesh Parbhoo as the new CEO of WestconGroup SA. Parbhoo joins the company after an almost two-decades-long tenure at Dimension Data, most recently holding the role of chief information officer for Dimension Data Middle East & Africa.

Anton van Heerden is leaving his role at Sage Africa and Middle East, to be replaced by Pieter Bensch (pictured), who will be taking over as MD and executive VP of the region.

South African Airways (SAA) has appointed Vuyani Jarana, Vodacom Business CEO, as its new CEO. Jarana has been with Vodacom since 2012 and will join the airline as soon as Vodacom releases him from his duties. Jurana is the airline’s first permanent CEO since November 2015.

American International Group Inc (AIG), a leading global insurance organisation, has promoted Senele Mbatha to the role of chief financial officer.

Brian Egan (pictured), Dangote Cement Group chief financial officer, has been appointed as the executive director, finance. According to the company, his promotion follows the “significant contribution he has made to the group”.

Cisco has appointed David Meads (pictured) as the new Vice President of its Middle East and Africa operations. Meads, in this newly created role, will oversee the execution of the company’s strategy in these two regions, ensuring the technology leader maintains its momentum at the forefront of digital transformation efforts.

The SABC has appointed an interim CEO and an interim CFO: Nomsa Philiso and Thabile Dlamini have been appointed acting CEO and CFO respectively. This, following the recent resignation of James Aguma (pictured), who had served in both these executive roles.

Hansal International recently launched its expansion into South Africa, Ghana and Kenya, simultaneously announcing that it has appointed Jo-Ann Pohl (pictured) as the company’s Chairperson for Africa. Jo is currently a consultant at property investment fund, Texton, a role she took up in May this year.

Following a call for nominations and elections for the first Africa regional board under the Association, Badibanga Promesse (pictured), regional VP Africa for CIMA, has announced that the following people have accepted their election and appointment to the new Africa regional board:

Ned Segal (pictured), who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs Group, has been named the new chief financial officer of Twitter. The 43-year-old former banker, currently a senior vice president of finance at Intuit Inc., will take over the CFO role from Anthony Noto (who will remain chief operating officer) from September.

German-based software giant SAP has appointed 25-year veteran Claas Kuehnemann (pictured) as acting managing director for Africa. This following allegations that the company's South African subsidiary paid a Gupta front R100 million in kickbacks for it to access lucrative state contracts. SAP has initiated an independent investigation into the matter, placing its SAP SA management team on administrative leave while the review is underway.

Former CFO Awards nominee Matone Ditlhake has left his role in finance at Groupe SEB to fill the CEO role at Optic Comm Networks, a company partly owned by The Wired Corp.

Sibanye Gold has announced that Robert van Niekerk (pictured) has been appointed executive vice president: SA Region. Van Niekerk's appointment follows the acquisition of Stillwater Mining Company in May 2017, and a subsequent transition of the Sibanye Group organisational structure from a divisional commodity structure to a geographical regionalised structure.

Kumba Iron Ore has appointed Bothwell Mazarura (pictured) as chief financial officer and executive director, effective 1 September 2017. Mazarura takes over from Johan Prins, Kumba’s head of finance, who has been acting CFO since 11 May 2017.

Standard Bank has appointed Bulelwa Mdlophane as its new chief financial officer for Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Global Market. Mdlophane says the appointment as CFO came after she had been “filling in” the role for almost 12 months.

Alexander Forbes has announced three key executive appointments: Naidene Ford-Hoon as Group chief financial officer (GCFO), Christian Schaub as Group chief human resources officer (GCHRO), and Thabo Mashaba, who is assuming a new role of Group chief empowerment & transformation officer (GCETO).

Peregrine Holdings has said that, following CEO Jonathan Hertz stepping down as of end June, it has appointed Rob Katz as interim CEO, effective 1 August 2017. Rob was a nominee both this year and in 2016, for the CFO of the Year Awards.

Umar Banda, nominated for the 2017 CFO of the Year Awards, has been permanently appointed to the position of City of Tshwane CFO – a role he has filled in an acting capacity since 2014.

Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene (pictured) began his new job today as head of the Wits Business School (WBS). Nene will serve as the business school’s interim director until a new leader can be appointed ahead of the start of the next academic year.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Lekoil, a West Africa-focussed oil and gas explorer, has appointed Bruce Burrows as CFO, effective 27 February.

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.

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.

Victoria Milazi has been appointed CFO of coal mine Nkomati Anthracite, effective January this year.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.