JOHANNESBURG - Anglo American plc on Wednesday announced the appointment of Nolitha Fakude as chairman of its management board in South Africa, with effect from 1 September, following the retirement of veteran deputy chairman Norman Mbazima.
The global miner said Fakude will step down as a non-executive director on the board at the end of August in order to take up this new executive role.
She will also join the group management committee as group director for South Africa, reporting to chief executive Mark Cutifani. Fakude, 54, joined the Anglo's board as a non-executive director in 2017.
She previously joined Sasol in 2005, serving as an executive director on the board and executive vice president of strategy and sustainability until her decision to leave the company at the end of 2016.
"After two years on the board, I am proud to join Anglo American in an executive capacity," Fakude said.
"As South Africa's most significant mining investor, to the tune of R72 billion over the next five years, we have a duty to keep improving the competitive position an performance of our businesses and for our stakeholder relationships to be mutually reinforcing."
Cutifani said Fakude's breadth of experience at Sasol and her board experience with Anglo and other major organisations stand her in good stead as the miner builds upon its partnerships with all its stakeholders in South Africa.
Meanwhile, Themba Mkhwanazi, the chief executive of Kumba Iron Ore, will also join the group management committee of Anglo American, with effect from 1 August, while continuing to report to Seamus French, the chief executive of bulk commodities and other minerals.
Hixonia Nyasulu and Nonkululeko Nyembezi were also announced to join the board as a non-executive directors, with effect from 1 November and 1 January 2020, subsequently.
Nyasulu, 64, is the founder of Ayavuna Women's Investments, a women-controlled investment vehicle focused on the health and education sectors, and the senior independent director of Vivo Energy Plc, a London listed company behind the Shell and Engen fuel brands in Africa.
Nyembezi, 59, is chairwoman of JSE and Alexander Forbes Group. She also serves as chief executive officer of Ichor Coal N.V., an international thermal coal mining company.