MOVING WITH PURPOSE

Read all about the finance leaders who are making intentional moves towards new opportunities this new

ers,” Zaf said when he first joined the group in November as CFO designate. Zaf took over from Ralph Buddle, who had been serving as Oceana’s interim CFO since the company bid farewell to two of its executives in August 2022. He joins the group from Cell C, where he was responsible for the turnaround and recapitalisation of the telecommunications company. “The recapitalisation is imminent and the sheer effort required to get the business to this stage, ready for its next phase as a transformed digital player, has been the highlight of my career so far,” Zaf said.

chief of support services. He joined Clicks in 2006, and has served in various finance-related roles within the pharmaceutical group since.

Woolworths appointed Zaid Manjra as its interim CFO in March 2022. Reeza Isaacs, who has been the company’s group FD for the last decade, has decided to step down from the position to pursue new interests.

Zaid has been with Woolworths for 15 years, most recently serving as head of group planning and reporting. Before that, he was the finance manager for the company’s Retail Operations Group.

Eskom appointed Martin Buys as its new interim CFO in March 2022. Martin joined Eskom in 1987 and has served in various roles within its finance function, including his most recent role as general manager for finance.

The utility’s former CFO, Calib Cassim, was appointed as the utility’s interim CEO following the early departure of Andre de Ruyter in February. Calib has spent over 19 years working at Eskom, including several years leading the regulation department. He was appointed CFO in November 2018, after serving as acting CFO from July 2017.

In the same month, Zaf Mahomed stepped in as Oceana Group’s new CFO. “I'm really excited to be joining the Oceana Group with its long history, global reach and excellent empowerment credentials. I’m looking forward to working with the team to unlock value for all stakehold-

Lerato Pule, who was part of Zaf’s finance team throughout the restructure, has taken over the finance department as Cell C’s new CFO. Prior to joining Cell C, Lerato was the CFO of Telkom’s SME segment. She served as the company’s executive of finance enablement for two years, and as an executive finance business partner for its corporate segment in 2016.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) also appointed Fawzia Suliman as its new CFO at the beginning of 2023. She took over from interim CFO Carmini Kander, who stepped in after the resignation of Aarti Takoordeen in May 2022. Fawzia most recently served as the special projects executive at Stanlib. Before that she served in various executive roles for companies like Macquarie Holdings, Equities South Africa and Mazi Macquarie Securities.

Gordon Traill has succeeded Clicks Group CFO Michael Fleming, who retired at the end of 2022. Gordon was identified as next in line for the role while serving as the group’s

Siphamandla Mthethwa will join ArcelorMittal South Africa as its new CFO on 1 July 2023, following the end of his contract as the CFO of Airports Company South Africa. Suretha van Wyk, who has been serving as interim CFO since September 2021, will stay in the role until that time.

Baptism of fire

Polani Sokombela has been the CFO at the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) for a year now, and explains that it has been a baptism of fire.

“The AGSA plays a huge role in South African society and in strengthening the democracy of the country through auditing and I am proud to be making a meaningful contribution to this,” he says.

He stepped into the role on 1 March 2022, during its financial year-end, and at the beginning of the AGSA’s strategic transformation. He was also briefly responsible for overseeing the chief technology officer role until June, when a new CTO was appointed.

“It was quite hectic at the time, but it was exciting to be given the opportunity to oversee the finances of the organisation and to ensure its financial sustainability,” Polani explains.

At the end of April 2022, the AGSA announced that it would be rolling out a new strategy, and Polani’s role is to develop a finance strategy and funding model that will ensure the regulator is able to fund that “bold” strategy. Along with ensuring that the AGSA teams have the capacity to support the strategy transformation, Polani has also undertaken to develop their skills to deliver value in this new operating environment.

Polani has been with the AGSA since 2007, when he joined the regulator as an assistant audit manager. He has climbed his way through the ranks, serving as a technical audit manager, senior manager and business executive before taking on his current role.

“It was such a defining moment for the office to have appointed someone that was a product of their training,” he says. “It’s also very inspiring for

RMB Holdings has appointed Ellen Marais as its new executive financial director. In December 2022, Ellen relinquished her positions as company secretary and financial manager, and stepped into the shoes of Herman Bosman, who will step down as CEO and FD.

Herman has also tendered his resignation as a CFO Awards judge, a position he’s held since 2019. “When I accept an appointment, I commit time and attention to it,” he said. “As I would like to spread my contribution across several organisations, stepping down from roles where I’ve added as much value as I can is necessary for me to add value to new and additional responsibilities elsewhere.”

Taryn Woodbridge took over as Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s CFO from Klaus Eser, who retired at the end of November 2022. Taryn most recently served as the company’s senior manager of plant account and control. She started at the car manufacturer in 2004 in the controlling division and rose through the ranks, young people, both in the AGSA and in the country.”

Polani has stepped into the shoes of Bongi Ngoma, who was crowned the 2021 CFO of the Year for her work as the AGSA’s CFO. “Bongi has done an amazing job for the AGSA, and while it’s a lot of pressure to take over from her, it’s also a blessing,” Polani says. “I have spent a lot of time learning from her during the handover process, and I can still draw from her experience and insights today.” l different industry than what I’m used to, which is exciting. I think being able to implement learnings from the past into a different environment is going to be what I am most interested to see.” serving as the manager of plant performance and operation, as well as manager of accounts and tax.

Senele Mbatha has traded in his role as Discovery Vitality’s CFO to become the Discovery group’s new chief risk officer. “It has been an incredible journey as the CFO of Vitality, and I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have led me to this point,” he said.

Bryan Groome was appointed as the CFO of Reflex Solutions, leaving his role as Verimark’s FD, which he held for seven years. “It was an extremely tough decision, given how long I had been at Verimark,” he said. “It’s a very

Grindrod Shipping has appointed Deborah Davel as its new CFO, effective 1 April 2023. Deborah will take over from Stephen Griffiths, who has retired as the company’s interim CEO and CFO.

Deborah has been with the company since 2004, and most recently served as the general manager of treasury and projects, as well as a director of the operating subsidiary of Grindrod Shipping. She has also been a member of the executive committee of the company since 2020.