WHO WE ARE

WHO WE ARE

Leadership

Key Management

Val Nichas - Chief Executive Officer

Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme – Said Business School – University of Oxford Diploma in Public Relations and Franchise Management

Appointed January 2021

Age: 61

Val is a highly experienced strategist and leader with extensive experience in the restaurant sector. She served as marketing director of Edgars, senior vice president of multinational food company, Rich Products Corporation, and managing director of Tequila Advertising. Val joined Famous Brands in 1999 as marketing director of Debonairs Pizza and later served as managing executive of Wimpy (then 506 restaurants) and Steers (then 492 restaurants) before her appointment as head of the quick-service restaurant brands. Val ran her own consultancy for the last eight years, specialising in business strategy and planning, before joining the group.

Cristina Teixeira - Chief financial officer

BCom, BCompt (Hons), CA(SA), AMP (Insead)

Appointed February 2021

Age: 50

Cristina has 15 years’ experience as a CFO in listed companies and was voted Businesswoman of the Year (corporate category) by the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa in 2013. After qualifying as a chartered accountant, she joined Group Five and was appointed as CFO in 2008. Cristina has led finance teams that have been consistently recognised in the Investment Analysts Society annual awards for reporting and disclosure, and in the Institute of Chartered Secretaries/JSE reporting awards.

Kevin Robertson - Chief operating officer

Appointed October 2020

Age: 57

Member of the risk committee

Member of the social, ethics and environmental sustainability committee

Kevin has been with the group for 32 years. He started as an operational manager at Spur Steak Ranches (Spur), and was soon promoted to regional manager of KwaZulu-Natal. Kevin assisted the group with building the international business in Mauritius, Australia and the United Kingdom. Kevin was appointed managing director of Panarottis in 1999. In 2011, he was appointed as the national franchise restaurant executive and became chief operating officer (COO) of Spur in 2018, before becoming group COO in October 2020.

Colleen Carr - People leadership and culture executive

Age: 56

Colleen has a strong track record in successful change management. Her transformational leadership abilities have allowed her to significantly shift the culture of organisations and create agile companies that remain relevant in a fast-changing world. These skills are crucial to the group in its strategic journey of making a meaningful impact on its employees and the broader market.

Robin Charles - Group supply chain executive

Age: 50

As a food technologist, Robin understands food and successful product development. He has more than 20 years’ experience in quality assurance roles, food safety systems and legislative requirements. He has particular skills in creating production efficiencies and product re-engineering initiatives. These are particularly important skills in a franchised model offering, especially in the current volatile market conditions. He was promoted to the position of supply chain executive from 1 July 2022.

Derick Koekemoer - Franchise executive international

Age: 53

Derick is a seasoned senior operator in the restaurant sector. His more than 20 years of knowledge of the group’s operations through various roles adds particular value. He has more than ten years’ experience in the international division, with a clear understanding of the dynamics of different global markets. His guidance has resulted in a footprint of 90 international restaurants.

Moshe Apleni - Transformation and corporate communications executive

Age: 43

Chairman of Spur Foundation Trust

Moshe has a background in communications and marketing, with a strong focus on building effective stakeholder relationships. He is closely involved in the ongoing development of an inclusive culture across the organisation. This track record resulted in him becoming one of only 20 African leaders chosen to attend an ethics leadership conference in Germany in 2018. Moshe completed the UCT Graduate School of Business’ Executive Development Programme in November 2021. His passion for effective change has resulted in his role being expanded to include transformation, as well as the chairmanship of the Spur Foundation Trust. He assumed an executive role with effect from 1 July 2022.

Vuyokazi Henda - Chief marketing officer

Age: 37

Vuyokazi (Vuyo) has more than thirteen years’ business experience, with her previous role being that of leading the Foods business for Southern Africa at Unilever. She joined Unilever in 2009 and has worked in various positions across sales and marketing. She also spent some time in London working on the biggest Unilever Food brand, Knorr. In 2020 she became one of 20 Dalai Lama Fellows and she has been involved in organisations that uplift young women in South Africa. Her expertise in FMCG, coupled with an in-depth understanding of strategy and passion for leading for the greater good, have already added significant value at the group.

Paul Casarin – Chief Information Officer

BCom, BCompt(Hons), MCom

Appointed November 2023

Paul has over 20 years’ experience in technology leadership roles in global Internet brands such as Naspers, eBay and South African retail giants Woolworths and Shoprite. He has a proven track record leading digital transformation, driving online revenue growth and building and leading technology startups. A strategic thinker with a deep experience in customer data centric technology and service focussed businesses.

Mike Bosman - Independent non-executive chairman

BCom (Hons), LLM, AMP (Harvard), CA(SA)

Appointed 2018

Age: 63

Member of the nominations and remuneration committee

Mike was appointed chairman of the board on 1 March 2019. He also serves as the non-executive chairman of the SPAR Group Limited and as an independent non-executive director of MTN South Africa. He serves on the audit and risk committee of MTN SA. He is the non-executive chairman of Vinimark, the largest independent wine distribution company in South Africa.

Mike has more than 40 years’ cumulative experience as a listed company director in South Africa. He worked for many years in advertising and communication, and in corporate and project finance. He served as Group CEO of the large advertising and communications groups FCB and later at TBWA.

Dr. Shirley Zinn - Lead independent non-executive

BA, HDipEd, BEd (Hons), MEd, EdM and EdD 

Appointed 2019 and as lead independent in August 2022

Age: 62

Chair of the nominations and remuneration committee

Member of the social, ethics and environmental sustainability committee

Shirley is an acclaimed human resources practitioner who has held senior positions in the corporate and public sectors. She holds a doctorate from Harvard University and was formerly the head of human resources at Woolworths Holdings, Standard Bank South Africa, Nedbank Group and the South African Revenue Service. She currently provides consulting and advisory services in human resources, transformation, leadership and education. Shirley serves on the boards of Sanlam, MTN South Africa, BCG-SA, WWF, Spar and V&A Waterfront, where she is the chairman.

Cora Fernandez - Independent non-executive

BCompt (Hons), Chartered Accountant

Appointed 2019

Age: 50

Chair of the audit committee Member of the risk committee

Member of the nominations and remuneration committee

Cora is a chartered accountant with extensive board experience. She is a non-executive director of Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd, Redefine Properties Ltd, Curro Holdings Ltd, Western Province Professional Rugby (Pty) td and Sphere Private Equity (Pty) Ltd. She serves as an independent trustee on the retirement funds of Allan Gray and serves on the investment committees of 27four Black Business Growth Fund. Cora previously served as managing director Sanlam Investment Management and CEO of Sanlam Private Equity. Following her departure from Sanlam, she pursued a career as a professional non-executive director.

André Parker - Independent non-executive

MCom

Appointed October 2020

Age: 72

Chair of the risk committee

Member of the audit committee

André spent most of his career with the SAB/SAB Miller group and was managing director of SAB Miller’s Africa and Asia portfolio for ten years. He previously served as chairman of Tiger Brands and Remgro’s TSB, and on the boards of SAB plc, SAB Ltd, AECI, Standard Bank, Carozzi SARL and Distell Ltd.

Jesmane Boggenpoel - Independent non-executive

BCom, BAcc, MPub Admin (Harvard), CA(SA)

Appointed October 2020

Age: 50

Member of the audit committee

Member of the social, ethics and environmental sustainability committee

Jesmane is a chartered accountant with private equity and entrepreneurial experience. She is a Managing Partner of private equity firm AIH Capital and was head of business engagement for Africa for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland. She currently serves on the boards of EOH Holdings, Murray & Roberts and the agri conglomerate ETG. Jesmane is the author of a book on diversity and inclusion, My Blood Divides and Unites. She is the creator of the online Udemy course: Dealing with the Heart of Race and Gender Inequality in the Workplace. Jesmane was nominated as a Young Global Leader of the WEF in 2013 and as a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader in 2022.

Lerato Molebatsi - Independent non-executive

Senior Executive Leadership

Prog. for Africa (Harvard Business School), Senior Management Development Programme (USB), PG Diploma in Rural Development and Management (Wits), BA (Psych) University of the Johannesburg

Appointed October 2020

Age: 54

Chair of the social, ethics and environmental sustainability committee

Member of the risk committee

Lerato is the lead independent director of the SA Reserve Bank, a non-executive at Petra Diamonds Ltd and Curro Holdings Ltd, and a member of the remuneration committee of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. Lerato has attained over 30 years working experience across various sectors and roles that include strategy formulation, communications, marketing, corporate social investments, stakeholder relations, black economic empowerment, administration, governance, policy development and upliftment of the broader African continent. She was the CEO of General Electric South Africa, held senior positions in corporate communications, public affairs, and corporate social investment, and worked in the Departments of Labour and Transport.

Sandile Phillip - Independent non-executive

BCom, BCompt (Hons), CA(SA)

Appointed October 2020

Age: 41

Member of the audit committee

Member of the risk committee

Sandile is a non-executive director of the SAICA Enterprise Development and previously served as a board member of the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants and the South African Post Office. His business experience is mainly in the areas of general banking, structured funding and leveraged finance in business banking at First National Bank, private banking at Investec and financial management at British American Tobacco and Peninsula Beverages.