JOHANNESBURG – Alexander Forbes Group Holdings on Wednesday announced the appointment of Nonkululeko Nyembezi as the new independent non-executive chair.
Nyembezi will start in 1 January next year, She becomes the first woman to chair the board in the company’s 82 years of existence.
Nyembezi succeeds Sello Moloko and joins the company at a time of strategic and business transformation in the implementation of its Ambition 2022 growth strategy, to create a globally distinctive pan-African financial services leader anchored in five core business pillars.
Moloko welcomed her to the board, he said Alexander Forbes was privileged to have such a highly regarded professional with extensive business and leadership experience as Ms Nyembezi to chair the company’s board. “I leave the board at a particularly exciting time when the company, is implementing Ambition 2022. I am confident that under the collective leadership of Group Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Darfoor, and Ms Nyembezi, Alexander Forbes will be able to meet its strategic goals” said Moloko.
Nyembezi held executive and non-executive corporate positions in a career spanning over 30 years across financial services, mining, IT and telecommunications sectors. Nyembezi is presently the independent non-executive chair of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), and a non-executive director of Old Mutual. She is also Chief Executive Officer of Ichor Coal, an international mining company operating in the thermal coal industry in South Africa.
Nyembezi’s prior corporate experience included Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal South Africa and prior to that, she was Chief Officer in charge of Mergers & Acquisitions at Vodacom Group.
She holds a BSc (Hons) Electrical Engineering (University of Manchester, Institute of Science & Technology), an MS Electrical Engineering Degree from California Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Open University Business School, UK. Nyembezi will relinquish her board membership of Old Mutual plc and Old Mutual Group Holdings prior to joining Alexander Forbes.
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Nyembezi said she was honored to be appointed to chair the board of Alexander Forbes, a company with a strong heritage of client commitment built over the past 82 years.
“Alexander Forbes has a strong and capable management team led by Andrew Darfoor. With the support of the board, I am confident of the successful implementation of the strategy for the benefit of our clients, employees, shareholders and investors and the wider community in which our businesses operate,” said Nyembezi.
Moloko’s extended term ended on October 31 2017. Mark Collier will assume the role of the interim non-executive chair from November 1 to December 31 2017. He is currently the lead independent director, chair of the remuneration and nominations committees, and a member of the audit committee of Alexander Forbes.