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Directors*

 
Sappi Limited
Non-executive directors​
 

Daniel (Danie) Christiaan Cronjé

(Chairman)


Age
: 66
Qualifications: BCom (Hons), MCom, DCom
Nationality: South African
Appointed: January 2008
 
Sappi board committee memberships
  • Nomination and governance committee (chairman)
  • Attends audit committee meetings, human resources and compensation committee meetings and social, ethics, transformation and sustainability committee meetings ex officio
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Die Dagbreek Trust (chairman)
Skills, expertise and experience
Dr Cronjé retired in July 2007 as chairman of both ABSA Group Limited and ABSA Bank Limited (a leading South African Banking organisation in which Barclays plc obtained a majority share in 2005). Dr Cronjé had been with ABSA Group since 1975 and held various executive positions including group chief executive for four years and chairman for 10 years. Prior to that Dr Cronjé was lecturer in Money and Banking at Potchefstroom University.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Godefridus (Frits) Peter Franciscus Beurskens
(Independent)


Age:
65
Qualifications: BSc Mechanical Engineering, MSc Industrial Engineering and Management Science
Nationality: Dutch
Appointed: October 2011
 
Sappi board committee memberships
  • Audit committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Smurfit Kappa group
  • A number of supervisory boards of companies
Skills, expertise and experience
The Smurfit Kappa group is a leader in paper based packaging with annual sales of more than €7 billion globally. As president and chief executive officer of Kappa Packaging, prior to its merger with the Smurfit group, he oversaw the establishment of Kappa Packaging as a top performer and one of Europe’s largest companies operating in the production, development and sale of containerboard, corrugated board, solid board packaging, graphic board and speciality board. He is a past chairman of CEPI (the Confederation of European Print Industries) and of ICCA (the International Corrugated Case Association). In December 2007, he was appointed by the Dutch Queen as officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau (Knighthood).
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert (Bob) DeKoch
(Independent)


Age:
60
Qualifications: BA Chemistry, MBA Finance and General Management
Nationality: American
Appointed: March 2013
 
Sappi board committee memberships
  • Social, ethics, transformation and sustainability committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • The Boldt Company
  • Palmer Johnson Power Systems
  • Fox Cities Children’s Museum and New North Inc
Skills, expertise and experience
Mr Bob DeKoch is currently the president and chief operating officer of The Boldt Company in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. The Boldt Company with 14 offices across the USA, is a US$700 million privately held construction services business with customers in power/energy, pulp and paper, food, automotive, plastics, healthcare and education.
 
Prior to joining The Boldt Company, Mr DeKoch served as a production manager and mill manager as well as VP of manufacturing for Appleton Papers (USA). He also served inter alia as technical director of Consolidated Papers (USA). He has co-authored two books on leadership thinking.
 
 
 

​Michael (Mike) Anthony Fallon
(Independent)


Age:
54
Qualifications: BSc Hons (First Class)
Nationality: British
Appointed: September 2011
 
Sappi board committee memberships
  • Audit committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited (NSG Group) (executive director - retired 30 June 2012)
Skills, expertise and experience
Prior to retirement, Mr Fallon was president of NSG’s global automotive division. With annual sales of around €6 billion, the NSG Group is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of glass and glazing products for the building, automotive and speciality glass sectors. His management and leadership experience extends across a wide range of functions from plant management, sales and marketing and supply chain to general management, including M&A experience. He has been a director and chairman of companies in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Finland.
 
 
 
 
 
 

​Deenadayalen (Len) Konar
(Independent)

 
Age: 58
Qualifications: BCom, MAS, DCom, CA(SA)
Nationality: South African
Appointed: March 2002

Sappi board committee memberships
  • Audit committee (chairman)
  • Nomination and governance committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Exxaro Resources Limited (chairman)
  • Illovo Sugar Limited
  • Lonmin plc
  • JD Group Limited
  • Mustek Limited (chairman)
  • Steinhoff International Holdings Limited (chairman)
Skills, expertise and experience
Previously professor and head of the department of Accountancy at the University of Durban-Westville, Dr Konar is a member of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa and the SA Institute of Directors, past member and chairman of the external audit committee of the International Monetary Fund and member of the Safeguards Panel and Implementation Oversight Panel of the World Bank (co-chairman).​​
 
 
 

Nkateko (Peter) Mageza
(Independent)

 
Age: 58
Qualifications: FCCA (UK)
Nationality: South African
Appointed: January 2010

Sappi board committee memberships
  • Audit committee
  • Human resources and compensation committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Clover Industries Limited
  • Eqstra Holdings Limited (chairman)
  • Ethos Private Equity (Pty) Limited
  • Rainbow Chickens Limited
  • Remgro Limited
  • MTN Group Limited
Skills, expertise and experience
Mr Mageza joined the Sappi board after having held senior executive positions across a wide range of industries. He is a former group chief operating officer and executive director of ABSA Group Limited, assistant general manager at Nedcor Limited and chief executive officer of Autonet, the Road Passenger and Freight Logistics Division of Transnet Limited.​
 
 
 
 

John (Jock) David McKenzie
(Independent)

 
Age: 66
Qualifications: BSc Chemical Engineering (cum laude), MA
Nationality: South African
Appointed: September 2007
 
Sappi board committee memberships
  • Human resources and compensation committee
  • Social, ethics, transformation and sustainability committee (chairman)
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Accelerate Cape Town (chairman)
  • Capitec Bank
  • Coronation Fund Managers
  • University of Cape Town Foundation (chairman)
  • WESGRO
  • Save the Children Fund (Cape)
  • Rondebosch Schools Education Trust (chairman)
  • The Carleton Lloyd Educational Trust (chairman)
Skills, expertise and experience
Mr McKenzie joined the Sappi board after having held senior executive positions internationally and in South Africa. He is a former president for Asia, Middle East and Africa Downstream of the Chevron Texaco Corporation and also served as the chairman and chief executive officer of the Caltex Corporation. He was a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board from 2000 - 2003.​​
 

Mohammed (Valli) Moosa

 
Age: 55
Qualifications: BSc (Mathematics)
Nationality: South African
Appointed: August 2010

Other board and organisation memberships
  • Auditor General's Advisory Committee (South Africa)
  • Anglo Platinum Limited (deputy chairperson and lead independent director)
  • Imperial Holdings Limited
  • Lereko Investments (Pty) Ltd and various other associate companies of Lereko Investments (Pty) Ltd
  • Sanlam Limited
  • Sun International Limited (chairman)
  • WWF South Africa (chairman)
Skills, expertise and experience
Mr Moosa is currently the deputy chairman of Lereko Investments (Pty) Ltd, Sappi’s Strategic Black Economic Empowerment partner. He has held numerous leadership positions across business, government, politics and civil society in South Africa. His previous positions include South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism; the President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature; and chairman of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development, and he was a long serving member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress.
 
 
 
 
 

Karen Rohn Osar
(Independent)

 
Age: 63
Qualifications: MBA (Finance)
Nationality: American
Appointed: May 2007

Sappi board committee memberships
  • Audit committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Innophos Holdings, Inc (also chairperson of audit committee)
  • Webster Financial Corporation (also chairperson of audit committee)
Skills, expertise and experience
Ms Osar was executive vice-president and chief financial officer of specialty chemicals company Chemtura Corporation until her retirement in March 2007. Prior to that, she held various senior management and board positions. She was vice-president and treasurer for Tenneco, Inc and also served as chief financial officer of Westvaco Corporation and as senior vice-president and chief financial officer of the merged MeadWestvaco Corporation. Prior to those appointments she spent 19 years at J.P. Morgan and Company, becoming a managing director of the Investment Banking Group. She has chaired several external board audit committees.​
 
 
 
 
 

Bridgette Radebe
(Independent)

 
Age: 52
Qualifications: BA (Pol Sc and Socio)
Nationality: South African
Appointed: May 2004
 
Sappi board committee memberships
  • Social, ethics, transformation and sustainability committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Mmakau Mining (Pty) Ltd (executive chairperson)
  • South African Mining Development Association (president)
  • New Africa Mining Fund (founder and board trustee)
Skills, expertise and experience
Ms Radebe was the first black South African deep level hard rock mining entrepreneur in the 1980s. She has more than a decade of experience in contract mining, mining construction and mining mergers and acquisitions. She is founder of Mmakau Mining which has investments in platinum, coal, chrome and gold mines. She participated in the design of the South African Mining Charter and present mining legislation.​
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sir Anthony Nigel Russell Rudd
(Lead independent director)

 
Age: 66
Qualifications: DL, Chartered Accountant
Nationality: British
Appointed: April 2006

Sappi board committee memberships
  • Human resources and compensation committee
  • Nomination and governance committee
Other board and organisation memberships
  • Barclays Wealth (chairman of the UK & Ireland Private Bank Advisory Board)
  • Business Growth Fund (chairman)
  • Cyden Limited (chairman)
  • Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited (chairman)
  • Invensys plc (chairman)
Skills, expertise and experience
Sir Nigel has held various senior management and board positions in a career spanning more than 35 years. He founded Williams plc in 1982 and the company went on to become one of the largest industrial holding companies in the United Kingdom. He was knighted by the Queen for services to the manufacturing industry in the UK in 1996 and holds honorary doctorates from Loughborough and Derby universities. In 1995, he was awarded the Founding Societies Centenary Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire and a Freeman of the City of London.​
 
 

Rudolf Thummer

 
Age: 65
Qualifications: Dr Techn, Dipl-Ing
Nationality: Austrian
Appointed: February 2010

Sappi board committee memberships
  • Social, ethics, transformation and sustainability committee
Skills, expertise and experience
Dr Thummer joined the Sappi Board after having served many years in the pulp and paper industry. He joined Hannover Papier in 1979 (later purchased by Sappi) as Manager of Research and Development. In 1982, he became the Paper Mill Manager at Alfeld Mill and in 1990 he was appointed technical director of this mill. In 1992, Dr Thummer became an executive board member of the Hannover Papier Group, responsible for manufacturing at the Alfeld and Ehingen Mills. In 1998, he moved to Sappi Fine Paper Europe based in Brussels as technical director and executive board member. He served as group head technology of Sappi Limited from January 2006 up to his retirement at the end of December 2007.​
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Executive directors​ ​
 

Roeloff (Ralph) Jacobus Boëttger

Chief executive officer

 
Age: 51
Qualifications: BAcc Hons, CA(SA)
Nationality: South African
Appointed: July 2007

Sappi board committee memberships
  • Social, ethics, transformation and sustainability committee
  • Attends meetings of all other board committees by invitation
Skills, expertise and experience
At the age of 34 he was appointed chief executive officer of Safair and the next year appointed to the executive committee of Safmarine Limited. From 1998 until July 2007, he was with Imperial Holdings when Imperial acquired Safair. From 2002, he was an executive director of Imperial Holdings with responsibility for their local and international logistics operations, the aviation division and the heavy commercial vehicle distribution operations. His field of responsibility encompassed businesses operating in Southern Africa, numerous European countries, the Middle East and Asia. He is well versed in managing an operation with diverse cultures.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Stephen (Steve) Robert Binnie

Chief financial officer**

 
Age: 45
Qualifications: BCom, BAcc, MBA, CA(SA)
Nationality: British
Appointed: September 2012

Sappi board committee memberships
  • Expected to attend audit committee meetings by invitation
Skills, expertise and experience
Mr Binnie joined Sappi in July 2012 as chief financial officer designate and was appointed chief financial officer and executive director from 01 September 2012. Prior to joining Sappi, he held various senior finance roles and was most recently chief financial officer of Edcon (Pty) Limited for 10 years after having been financial manager at Investec Bank Limited for four years.
 
** Mr Binnie joined Sappi as CFO-designate on 09 July 2012, and on the retirement of Mark Thompson, became CFO and joined the Sappi Limited board as an executive director on 01 September 2012.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

* Ages of directors on 31 December 2012

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