Movers: New year, new C-suite

NEW YEAR NEW C-SUITE

These finance professionals have decided to take on new responsibilities along with the new year.

Tsholofelo Molefe

MTN has appointed former Telkom group CFO Tsholofelo Molefe as its new group CFO. Tsholofelo resigned from her role at Telkom on 4 December with immediate effect. [Tsholofelo won the Finance Transformation Award and HighPerformance Team Award at the 2020 CFO Awards.] Tsholofelo will be taking over from Sugentharan Perumal, who has been acting in the position of group CFO since 1 September 2020 after Ralph Mupita was appointed as MTN’s group CEO. MTN South Africa also appointed Dineo Molefe as CFO from 1 December 2020. Dineo is a CA(SA) and joins from T-Systems (South Africa), where she served as the MD. Telkom appointed Dirk Reyneke as acting group CFO with effect from 7 December 2020. AngloGold Ashanti has appointed senior VP of group finance Ian Kramer as interim CFO after Christine Ramon was appointed as interim CEO following Kelvin Dushnisky’s resignation. Abigail Mukhuba has been appointed as Sanlam Group’s new FD as of 1 October 2020. She has taken over from Wikus Olivier, who has been acting as the CFO since July 2019. Abigail joins Sanlam from African Rainbow Minerals where she held the position of FD since 2017. “Joining the Sanlam Group as FD is certainly an honour and it comes with significant responsibility as we work towards ensuring the organisation’s financial health to the benefit of all stakeholders,” she said.

Wikus has been appointed as Sanlam’s group executive of strategy. Kirsten King is back as the CFO of Comair since 30 November 2020. Kirsten resigned in February 2020 in order to emigrate to the UK. She is a qualified CA(SA) and was introduced to Comair as the revenue accountant. She was appointed as FD in 2014.

Brandon Wood was appointed as Italtile’s new CFO in August 2020, replacing former executive director of finance and administration Tsu

Mhlanga.

Truworths International announced the resignation of CFO David Pfaff from 28 February 2021. David joined the group as CFO in 2013 and was appointed as COO, along with his role as CFO, in 2018.

Cristina Teixeira was appointed as the new CFO Spur Corporation from 1 February 2021. She will be taking over from Phillip Matthee, who will take on a senior operational role within the group’s finance department. Adcorp appointed Noel Prendergast as its permanent CFO in October 2020. He had stepped in as acting CFO following the resignation of CFO CJ Kujenga. CJ has been appointed as the CFO of Ascendis starting in December 2020. She takes over from Kieron Futter who was Ascendis’s CFO for five years. She has served as Adcorp’s CFO and interim CEO. [CJ was nominated for the 2020 CFO Awards.] Wescoal appointed Jubilant Speckman as acting group CFO from

David Pfaff

Realising a dream

On 25 August, Ashley Francis stepped down from his role as University of Cape Town executive director of finance to pursue his dream of being an entrepreneur, having recently founded his own company called Safricang Group. “I am extremely excited as I commence my entrepreneurial journey utilising and focusing on my industry experiences of food and agriculture, real estate, renewable energy and education, then integrating these with latest technology whilst holding firm on the cornerstones of financial and business acumen,” Ashley says. Ashley, a 2020 CFO Awards nominee, says he has dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur his whole life and, after seven years at UCT, finally has the chance to realise his dream as the founder and CEO of Safricang Group, which will specialise in food, agriculture, real estate, renewable energy, education and technology. The realisation that he was ready to further pursue his dream came during lockdown, and Ashley says that, after many discussions with his family, he made the decision to resign from his role at UCT so he could focus on building the new company. UCT group FD Hardy Martiz will step in as acting executive director of finance. Hardy joined UCT in 1999 and was appointed director of group finance at UCT in January 2016. l

Ashley Francis

Cristina Teixeira

1 September following the resignation of Izak van der Walt after three years as group CFO. Then in January Jubilant was appointed permanently to the position. Zaida Adams was appointed as the new CFO of Investec Property Fund from 1 December 2020. She took over from Jenna Sprenger, who stepped down to spend more time with her young family. Hulamin has announced the appointment of Mark Gounder as its new CFO and executive director with effect from 1 April. Mark’s appointment follows the resignation of acting CFO Laren Farquharson. Zeder Investments CFO Johann le Roux was appointed as acting CEO from 1 October. He took over from outgoing CEO Norman Celliers. Johann has been with Zeder since 2014 and was appointed as CFO of Zeder Investments in September 2016.

In August, Marelise de Lange was appointed as the interim CFO of Delta Property Fund, following the resignation of CFO Shaneel Maharaj. Prior to her appointment, Marelise, a qualified CA(SA), served as the CEO and founder of tertiary choices gateway UCANDO. Net1 CFO Alex Smith was appointed as interim CEO following the resignation of Herman Kotzé after 22 years with the company. Alex was previously the CFO, secretary and treasurer of Net1 since 1 March 2018. Prior to joining the company, he was CFO and director of Altron.

Asathi Magwentshu has been appointed as the acting CFO of Rebosis Property Fund following the resignation of Isabeau King as CFO. She was previously with Texton Property Fund, Delta Property Fund and Vunani Properties. Redefine Properties has appointed Ntobeko Nyawo as its new CFO as of 1 March 2021, following the appointment of current CFO Leon Kok as COO. Ntobeko has over 16 years’ experience as a senior finance executive and has served as COO and CFO at Alexander Forbes Investments, and as FD of Alexander Forbes Emerging Markets. Douglas Lafferty was appointed as CFO designate of Vivo Energy following the resignation of CFO Johan Depraetere, which will come into effect in February 2021. Douglas will become CFO on 5 March 2021. Before the appointment, he served as the CFO of Williams Grand Prix Holdings. Nutritional Holdings has appointed Suzanne Meyer as its new CFO from November 2020. Suzanne is a qualified CA(SA) with experience in both the public and private sector.

Asathi Magwentshu

Wikus Roos was appointed as the new CFO of TeleMasters Holdings from 1 November 2020. He has taken over from Michael Vosloo. Wikus has over 38 years’ experience, 31 of which were as a partner in the Gauteng Assurance practice of PwC. Thebe Investment Corporation has appointed Grathel Motau as its new group FD as of 1 September 2020. Grathel has extensive experience in finance, having previously served as an audit partner at KPMG and the group CFO of Blue IQ Investments. Prinisha Khoosal has been appointed as Bridgestone South Africa’s first female CFO. Prinisha says: “This is an unprecedented time and it calls for high agility and a mindset of change to embrace the challenges and respond appropriately... I plan to drive and be part of the response plan for Bridgestone while instilling a cost-conscious culture during this difficult time.” Transcend Residential Property Fund has appointed CFO Myles Kritzinger as its new CEO. Myles is taking over from Solly Mboweni, who has stepped down as CEO to fulfil another role within the International Housing Solutions South Africa group. Aneshree Naidoo has been appointed as the CFO of Webber Wentzel. She joins the firm from Deloitte Consulting, where she served as Africa CFO and on their leadership committee for the past five years. “Webber Wentzel is a leading law practice and I gravitated to the firm’s shared values from first interactions,” Aneshree says. “I am excited to work with best-in-class professionals.” Isaac Nkululeko Malevu was appointed as the Industrial Development Corporation’s (IDC’s) new CFO as of 1 October 2020. Isaac will be taking over from Gert Gouws, who stepped into the role of interim CFO in July after IDC CFO Nonkululeko Dlamini resigned. Isaac joins IDC from Standard Bank CIB, where he served as CFO. Maphefo Sedite has been appointed as the new CFO of the Gauteng and Development Agency subsidiary Innovation Hub. She has taken over from Beverly Mmamedupi Bokaba, who has been serving as acting CFO since September 2019 after CFO Mavis Thomani stepped down. Umgeni Water has appointed Kajal Singh as its new acting CFO as of November 2020. Kajal has taken over from CFO Nomalungeo Mkhize, who has been appointed as acting CEO. Middle East Diamond Resources has announced the appointment of Deon Botha as its new FD on a parttime basis as of November 2020.

Ntobeko Nyawo

Till Streichert has been appointed as the new CFO for Madrid-based global travel technology company Amadeus. Till takes over from Ana de Pro, who has stepped down after more than a decade with the company. He joins Amadeus from Vodacom, where he spent 12 years, most recently as group CFO and executive director. [Till was awarded the 2017 CFO of the Year Award for his role at Vodacom.] Francis Heunis has been appointed as Namibian-based Oryx Properties’ new CFO as of October 2020. She has taken over from Lizette Smit, who announced her resignation on 30 June. Australian-headquartered Perseus Mining has appointed South African Lee-Anne de Bruin as its new CFO following the resignation of Elissa Brown on 31 October.

Thabiso Hermanus has been appointed as the head of finance at Altron Bytes People Solutions. Thabiso joins Altron Bytes People Solutions from Adcorp Group, where he served as group finance executive since 2017. l

There's a new CFO in the Kingdom

King Price Insurance has appointed Paul Stedall as its new CFO. Paul will be taking the reins from Rhett Finch, who was appointed as the insurer’s deputy CEO in August 2020. About the appointment, Paul says that he looks forward to being able to continue to build on the solid finance Rhett and the team have built over the last eight years. “It’s a phenomenal organisation that has agility and innovation at its core, and I'm excited to introduce some innovation in the finance space.” Paul joins King Price from Deloitte South Africa, where he served as a partner from 2010 until 2020. l

Paul Stedall

Raisibe Morathi

“Mixed emotions” as Raisibe Morathi leaves Nedbank for Vodacom

Raisibe Morathi was appointed as the new group CFO of Vodacom starting on 1 November 2020. She joined Vodacom from Nedbank, where she served as group CFO. Raisibe said: “I’m excited to be joining the Vodacom Group board and exco at a time when it has simplified its structure to drive increased focus across all of its international territories. I look forward to leading a high-performing finance team, driving the function’s strategic digital transformation and contributing to the future success of the group.” Raisibe will be taking over from Sitho Mdlalose, who was appointed as interim group CFO following the resignation of Till Streichert. Raisibe took up the reins as CFO at Nedbank in September 2009 and was charged with driving transformation in the finance division. Over more than 15 years in the financial services and insurance industries, she served in a number of senior positions at the likes of Santam, HSBC, AMB and the IDC. She was also an advisor to the government. Raisibe is a chartered accountant with a certificate in advanced management from INSEAD in France and a higher diploma in taxation from Wits University. Raisibe was nominated for the CFO Awards in 2015 and 2017 for her role as Nedbank’s CFO. She currently sits on the panel of judges for the CHRO Awards – a role that she has found rewarding. About her departure from Nedbank, Raisibe said: “I wish to thank the board of Nedbank for the opportunity afforded to me over the last several years, the experience gained is truly invaluable. It is in that context that this is a moment of mixed emotions, sad to leave all my friends and colleagues at Nedbank while also looking forward to opening a new chapter in my career.” Mike Davis has taken over from Raisibe as the CFO of Nedbank Group. Raisibe explains that she remains a true Nedbank loyalist whose connection as a client of 26 years will continue well beyond this period, and congratulated Mike Davis. “I wish him well in the role, with full confidence that he will do well.” Mike Davis was appointed as group executive of balance sheet management and to the group executive committee on 1 January 2015. He has significant industry-wide experience in finance, asset and liability management and capital management, having worked in financial services for over 20 years. Mike is the current deputy-chairperson of the Nedbank CFO Forum and has strong relationships within Nedbank and with shareholders, as well as the broader investment community. l