PEOPLE MOVES

Sandiso Gcwabe was appointed as the new CFO of Wesgro in January. “It is with great excitement and humility that I take on the CFO role at Wesgro,” he said. “I look forward to bringing my expertise in understanding context, having a clear long-term view, and navigating ambiguity to an already-successful agency in the Cape.”

Sandiso has held various finance leadership roles within the public sector, as well as with the AuditorGeneral of South Africa.

Curro Holdings has appointed its group financial manager, Burtie September, as the successor to CFO Cobus Loubser. Burtie joined Curro in 2016.

Cobus stepped into the role of CEO in January, after two years in the CFO role. “I look forward to building on the firm foundation set by my predecessors in this profoundly important business,” he said.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies appointed Craig Domoney as its new interim CFO. Craig took over from Sandile Ntsele, who stepped away from the role to take sick leave in March 2023.

Vodafone Group’s CFO Margherita Della was appointed as the company’s interim CEO in December, when Nick Read stepped down from the chief executive role. Margherita was appointed group CFO in July 2018 and will remain in the role until the company has appointed a new finance officer.

Vodafone’s recent leadership shake-ups have also included the appointment of 2018 CFO of the Year and former AngloGold Ashanti CFO Christine Ramon as a non-executive director to the company.

Not long after that, Christine also took up a seat on the Clicks Group board as a non-executive director.

Bidvest Group CFO Mark Steyn has also taken up a non-executive director role, and joined the Adcock Ingram board in April.

Sygnia appointed Carmen le Grange as its financial director in April. Carla joins Sygnia from EY, where she served as a partner and director until September 2022. Before that, she served as the group CFO of Denel.

Thabile Ngidi is the brand-new CFO excited to head up Bidvest Prestige’s finance department. She joins Bidvest from Toyota, where she was a franchise finance manager at NMI-DSM. “It is a complex business and a new industry that is out of my comfort zone. It will be a rewarding experience,” she said.

Libstar CFO Charl de Villiers took over the CEO role in January, following the retirement of Andries van Rensburg. Charl was appointed to the role of CFO at Libstar in 2020. “I am fully committed to further accelerating the implementation of the group’s strategy to ensure future success and unlock shareholder value,” Charl said.

Jaco Maritz has been promoted to the role of global CEO of Syspro. “It is an honour to lead Syspro as we look at accelerating our business across the globe,” says Jaco. “Our customer and partner success and experience are at the heart of everything we do.”

Having formerly served as the company’s CFO and COO, Jaco is well-positioned to drive the business strategy and vision of the company while overseeing its daily operations.

Swissport South Africa appointed Neena Harri as CFO in July 2022, after she had served as financial manager since 2018. Prior to joining Swissport South Africa, Neena served in a treasury and compliance role, as well as a regional finance controller for Gauteng at Cambridge Food.

Buffalo Coal’s Emma Oosthuizen has taken up the company’s CFO role once again, after serving as CEO since April 2020. Emma joined Buffalo Coal as the vice president of finance in March 2018 and was appointed CFO in October that same year. In February 2019, Buffalo Coal’s CEO stepped down, and Emma was appointed as interim CEO, in addition to continuing her role as CFO.

In August 2019, Graham du Preez was appointed as interim CFO, and in February 2020, Willie Bezuidenhout took up the role as CFO of the company. Willie stepped down from the role in September 2022.

PPS has appointed Anushuya Gounden as its new group CFO. She joins PPS from WesBank, where she’s been the CFO since 2018. Before that, she was the group CFO of DirectAxis, and the executive director of finance at Barloworld Equipment respectively.

Sirius Real Estate appointed Chris Bowman as its new CFO in August 2022. Chris brings nearly 25 years’ accounting, finance and capital markets experience with him to the role.

When he joined the company, Chris took over from Alistair Marks, who has been serving as interim CFO since Diarmuid Kelly went on paternity leave in August last year. Alistair will resume his focus fully on his role as chief investment officer, which he has held since January 2021.

Dipula Income Fund appointed Sudesh Moodley as its new FD in March, following the resignation of Ridwaan Asmal. Sudesh most recently held the position of the executive head of asset management at Eris Property Group. He also served as the company’s CFO from 2012 to 2017, and as the general manager of finance, risk and compliance from 2007 to 2012.

A warm welcome back

Nerishini Naidoo stepped down as the group CFO and executive director of Etion in January, in order to pursue other interests. She joined the group in November 2018 as a group financial controller and was promoted to group CFO in February 2021.

York Timber appointed Schalk Barnard as its CFO in November 2022. Schalk has been the company’s external audit partner representing PwC in his capacity as the Africa Family Business Leader since 2019. The appointment will see him resign from PwC. The appointment will also see Gerald Stoltz step down as interim CFO of the company, a position he has held since his appointment to CEO in July.

2022 CFO Awards nominee Brad Wentzel left his role as Douglasdale Dairy CFO at the end of 2022 and joined Frey’s Food Brands as its new CFO at the start of 2023. “I am really looking forward to bringing my expertise and brand of leadership into the company, where I am hoping to make a long-lasting impact on the employees, communities and the region as a whole,” Brad says.

In the new year, Jenna Sprenger returned to the position of Investec Property Fund CFO after stepping down from the role in 2020 to spend more time with her young family.

“My career to date, and the last nearly nine years spent at Investec Property Fund, has enhanced my strategic thinking, and allowed me to be adaptable, progressive and passionate while still enhancing my organisational and project management skills,” Jenna said.

She explained that she has succeeded through times of crisis by implementing the appropriate crisis management and using her communication skills, which provided her with the experience and leadership to enable and guide teams to achieve both strategic and operational deliverables. “I have a deep love for Africa and a great respect for its many people. I am passionate about growing and developing business and people,” she adds.

Jenna has been the interim CFO since July 2022. She joined the company in August 2014 and in 2018 was appointed as CFO. “During my tenure, I have been responsible for multiple facets of the business, from all aspects of financial reporting to the set-up and management of conservative balance sheet and treasury management function,” Jenna said.

She explained that her time at the fund has provided her with new growth

Liberty Life Botswana has appointed Whitney Kalaote-Moyo as its head of finance. Prior to joining Liberty, Whitney served as the head of finance for Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet). Before that, she was an independent consultant for Metropolitan Life Botswana.

Yvonne Bredenhann was named as the new CFO for African insurtech aYo Holdings in March. The appointment follows Sanlam’s acquisition of 50 percent of the aYo business in late 2022 from MTN. Yvonne has worked for Sanlam for the last 20 years and has held positions like head of finance for SanlamConnect’s sales and distribution division, as well as head of finance and procurement for the group’s technology and information shared services.

Multinational miner OceanaGold appointed South African Marius van Niekerk as its new executive VP and CFO. Marius will be replacing Scott McQueen, who didn’t want to relocate to Vancouver, Canada, for family reasons. Marius will start in the new role in mid-2023 from its head office in Vancouver. l opportunities, including exposure to all aspects of the business, and a key role in the continued successful implementation of the fund’s strategy of capital optimisation.

Prior to joining Investec Property Fund, Jenna served as a financial manager for Annuity Properties for a year. From 2009 until 2013 she was a manager and audit clerk at KPMG South Africa. She also completed a six-month secondment to KPMG New York during this time. l