(BORN 1970)

Chief Executive

Holger has been appointed AECI Group Chief Executive and Executive Director with effect from 1 May 2023. He has held many executive and senior management positions in leading companies across Germany, the USA, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Malaysia and has extensive expertise in the mining, chemicals, agricultural and manufacturing sectors. These include global vice president and senior management roles at Bunge Lodgers Croklaan, BASF, Frutarom and AkzoNobel. His most recent role was as chief operating officer and executive director of the K+S Group AG (Germany).

(BORN 1980)

Group CFO and Executive Director

Rochelle is a Chartered Accountant (SA), holds a B.Comm Degree and Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting. She has over 15 years senior finance experience and has held various executive roles, including CFO positions at multinational companies. She brings a depth of leadership experience and skills in navigating complex operating environments as well as driving finance transformation. Rochelle’s portfolio will include Financial Management, Financial Reporting, Treasury, Risk, Internal Audit, Financial Shared Services Centre, Information Technology, Property Services, OneWorld Project and Investor Relations.

(BORN 1975)

Group Chief Operations Officer

Denvor has a leadership career spanning 26 years, and has been with the Group since 2014, with his most recent position being AECI Mining Executive for Global Operations. He was responsible for delivering a substantial part of the Group’s revenue, positioning AECI Mining as a leading chemicals and explosives business in the local and international arena. In 2020, Denvor was presented with the coveted AECI Chairman’s Award, in recognition of his immense contribution to the success of AECI Mining, and AECI Group as a whole.

(BORN 1969)

Executive Vice President for AECI Chemicals

Dean is the Group Executive responsible for AECI Agri Health and AECI Chemicals. He joined the Group as Managing Director of Chemiphos when Chemserve acquired that business in 2006 and went on to serve in a number of leadership roles in the Chemserve group. Dean was appointed to the then AECI Chemicals Executive in 2013 and the AECI Executive Committee in 2018.

(BORN 1972)

Chief Transformation Officer

Rafael Fernandes has been appointed Group Chief Transformation Officer. He will be responsible for the roll-out of the approved group strategy, across all businesses. Rafael has held the position of Acting Group CFO since May 2023, and has been Finance Executive for AECI Mining since 2015. Rafael is a qualified Chartered Accountant (SA) with a B.Com Honours degree in Accounting, an ACMA qualification from CIMA, and has completed the Strategic Financial Leadership Programme at Stanford University.

(BORN 1968)

Group Chief People Officer

Khabonina is an award-winning human capital executive, with extensive experience over an illustrious career spanning three decades, in diverse industries such as auditing, investment, retail, pharmaceutical and mining chemicals. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Post-Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations and is in the process of completing the Master of Arts in Management Executive Business Coaching.

(BORN 1977)

Group Company Secretary and General Counsel

Cheryl took up her position as Group Company Secretary and General Counsel in 2021. She is an admitted attorney and GIBS MBA alumna with over 15 years’ experience as a company secretary, including the legal, compliance and risk management disciplines. Cheryl started her career at a leading law firm and went on to work at various listed and unlisted companies in a number of sectors. She is also a certified Ethics Practitioner with the Ethics Institute of Southern Africa.

(BORN 1955)
Chairman

Khotso joined the board in 2016 and took up his position as chairman a year later. He is also chairman of the Nomination, Governance and Director’s Affairs Committee, and the Investment, Innovation and Technology Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Remuneration and Human Capital Committee, and the Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committee. Khotso is the lead independent non-executive director at the MTN Group, non-executive director at Seasoned Capital and Hans Merensky Holdings and president of the Hans Merensky Foundation.

(BORN 1961)
Non-executive Director

Sam joined the Board in 2022. He is a member of the Investment, Innovation and Technology Committee as well as the Safety, Health and Environment Committee. He is a global mining executive with over 30 years’ international experience, operating in Canada, the USA, South America, Australia, Tanzania, Fiji and South Africa. Sam has held numerous senior leadership positions at international companies including Harte Gold Corp., Golden Star Resources, Kinross Gold, Xstrata and Placer Dome/Barrick and brings extensive global knowledge of underground and open-pit mining operations.

(BORN 1964)
Non-executive director

Steve joined the board in 2020. He chairs the safety, Health and Environment Committee and is member of the Risk Committee and Investment, Innovation and Technology Committee. In his career Steve has fulfilled senior global roles at Dyno Nobel and Incitec Pivot across sales, operations, safety and risk related to explosives and fertilisers. He is currently CEO of Nomad Breads Proprietary Limited.

(BORN 1960)
Non-executive Director

Fikile joined the AECI Board in 2019. She chairs the Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committee, and is a member of the Audit Committee and the Remuneration and Human Capital Committee. She is an Independent Non-executive Director on the board of Mercedes-Benz South Africa, where she chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committee. Fikile has more than 23 years’ financial experience in an executive capacity and was, among others, COO/CFO at The Council for Medical Schemes and Treasurer at BDC in Botswana. Fikile is the founding President of the South Africa Chapter of the Global Forum of Women Entrepreneurs. She is also a member of Women in Mining South Africa.

(BORN 1962)
Non-executive Director

Walter joined the board in 2020. He is the chairman of the Risk Committee and a member of the Investment, Innovation and Technology Committee, and the Safety, Health and Environment Committee. Walter is an independent non-executive director at a number of international companies in Brazil. He served as CEO of Votorantim Cimentos S.A. and prior to that he held senior positions at BASF in South America and globally.

(BORN 1967)
Non-executive Director

Marna joined the Board in 2020. She is a member of the AECI Audit, Remuneration and Human Capital and Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committees and the AECI Captive Insurance Financial Review Committee. Marna has extensive experience in business, financial services, banking, corporate finance and auditing. She has served as an executive at major banking groups on the African continent. Marna is a non-executive director and shareholder of No More Plastic, a company that manufactures biodegradable products.

(BORN 1977)
Non-executive Director

Philisiwe was appointed to the Board in 2018. She chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the Risk Committee and Nomination, Governance and Director’s Affairs Committee. Other directorships include the Investec Group and GoldFields. She is also CEO and Chair of the Shingai Group, the investment holding company she founded. Philisiwe was formerly CFO at MTN South Africa and CEO at MTN Cameroon.

(BORN 1965)
Non-executive Director

Patty joined the Board in 2021. She is a member of the Social, Ethics and Sustainability; Risk; and Safety, Health and Environment Committees. She is an independent non-executive director at SE Advanced Materials in the USA and also serves on an advisory board in Europe.

Patty served as the chief commercial officer at US-based CoorsTek Inc. Her experience in the chemicals industry includes her time as chief marketing officer at A. Schulman (now part of LyondellBasell) and as global director of marketing excellence at Dow Inc.