The saying, ‘The high trees catch a lot of wind,’ means that people in important and high positions are constantly under the spotlight, subject to a continuous flow of comments and criticism.
Even so, does the saying apply to CEOs of companies, and even more to CEOs of top companies?
The CEO (chief executive officer) holds the highest-ranking position in a company and is ultimately responsible for the company’s success or failure.
There are numerous ways to describe the responsibilities of a CEO, including the functions in the following list:
- Oversee functions such as operations, finance, strategy, compliance, and business transformation, to name a few.
- Balancing the needs of employees, customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders.
- Take ultimate responsibility for the company’s performance, profitability, and sustainable growth.
- Provide leadership and guidance to senior management, other managers, and employees.
- Required to make swift decisions, communicate a clear vision, and foster a culture of innovation and excellence across the company.
Furthermore, being the CEO of a South African company is a demanding position with its fair share of stresses and numerous challenges.
CEOs of companies operating in South Africa are confronted with complex business environments, encountering political uncertainty, boycotts, labour unrest, cultural sensitivities, corruption, and high levels of inequality.
In addition, CEOs in South Africa often deal with difficult issues such as the ongoing issue of transformation and diversity in the workplace.
CEOs of the top ten JSE companies by market capitalisation
According to SA Shares, the following companies hold the top ten positions on the JSE by market cap (short for market capitalisation) – as of the morning of 15 October 2024.
- Prosus (Market cap: R3.1 trillion)
- BHP (Market cap: R2.6 trillion)
- AB InBev (Market cap: R2.1 trillion)
- British American Tobacco (BAT) (Market cap: R1.5 trillion)
- Richemont SA (Market cap: R1.4 trillion)
- Glencore (Market cap: R1 3 trillion)
- Naspers (Market cap: R7.8 billion)
- Anglo-American (Market cap: R7.1 billion)
- FirstRand (Market cap: R4.6 billion)
- Standard Bank (Market cap: R4.1 billion)
Market cap is calculated by multiplying the total number of a company’s outstanding shares (shares held by shareholders) by its current share price.
CEO of Prosus (Fabricio Bloisi)
Fabricio Bloisi has been CEO of the Prosus group since 1 July 2024, replacing Ervin Tu (the group’s chief investment officer) who acted as CEO on an interim basis and took over from Bob van Dijk in September 2023.
Bloisi, in his late forties, is a prominent Brazilian entrepreneur who has served as CEO of iFood since 2019. iFood, the leading food delivery company in Latin America, is owned by Prosus.
Bloisi holds a degree in Computer Science from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and an MBA from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV/EAESP). He also completed further studies at Harvard Business School and the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Commenting on his appointment as CEO, Bloisi said: ‘A company like Prosus must play an important role in identifying new technologies, such as AI, that impact the world and specifically emerging markets. Our focus on innovation and discipline, combined with our outstanding people, knowledge, and culture, is a recipe for better experiences for our customers, opportunities for employees and better results for our shareholders long into the future.’
CEO of BHP (Mike Henry)
Mike Henry is CEO of the BHP Group Limited (previously known as BHP Billiton) since 1 January 2020. Henry replaced Andrew Mackenzie as CEO of BHP.
Henry, born in 1966 in Canada, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of British Colombia.
He worked in the resources industry in Canada, Japan, and Australia prior to joining BHP Billiton in 2003. He has been a member of the group’s Executive Leadership Team since 2011.
Henry has more than ‘30 years’ experience in the global mining and petroleum industry, spanning operational, commercial safety, technology, and marketing roles,’ according to BHP.
BHP says that Henry is a CEO who is ‘focused on creating a safe, high-performance culture, enabled by an inclusive workplace in which people are empowered at every level through the BHP operating system.’
CEO of AB InBev (Michel Doukeris)
Michel Doukeris, born in 1973 in Brazil, replaced Carlos Brito as CEO of AB InBev (short for Anheuser-Busch InBev) on 1 July 2021.
Doukeris holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina and a Masters Degree in Marketing from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV/EAESP). He has also completed post-graduate programs in Marketing and Marketing Strategy from the Kellog School of Management and Wharton Business School.
Doukeris joined AB InBev in 1996 and led the group’s operations in China and the Asia Pacific for seven years. In 2016, he assumed the position of Global Sales Officer. In January 2018, he became the leader of the group’s North American business.
CEO of British American Tobacco (Tadeu Marroco)
Tadeu Marroco became the CEO of BAT plc (short for British American Tobacco) on 15 May 2023, succeeding Jack Bowles.
Marocco joined the company in 1992. His previous roles in BAT included regional director for Europe and North Africa and group transformation director. He has also served on the management board of BAT since 2014.
He was appointed to the board of the group in 2019 as Group Finance Director.
Commenting on his appointment as CEO, Marroco observed: ‘Throughout my 30-year career with this great company, inclusivity and collaboration have always been at the heart of my leadership approach. My commitment as the new Chief Executive will be to nurture the passion in BAT for our people, our consumers, and our brands. My management team and I will continue to build an increasingly agile and progressive BAT.’
CEO of Richemont (Nicolas Bos)
In an announcement on 17 May 2024, the board of Richemont (short for Compagnie Financière Richemont SA) appointed Nicolas Bos to the ‘re-established role of Chief Executive Officer’ of Richemont, effective 1 June 2024.
Bos was born in 1971 in Paris where he was also raised.
Bos joined Richemont in 1992. In 2000, he joined Van Cleef & Arpels (a French luxury jewellery company and one of Richemont’s operating divisions) where he held different positions until he became global president and CEO of the company in January 2013.
Bos is a graduate of the ESSEC Business School.
Commenting on the appointment of Bos, Johann Ruper (chairperson of Richemont) said: ‘Building on Richemont’s expanded scale and stronger focus on retail and jewellery, Nicolas will steer the group through the next phase of its evolution. The re-established CEO role will help streamline decision-making and optimise operational management.’
CEO of Glencore (Gary Nagle)
Gary Nagle succeeded Ivan Glasenberg as CEO of Glencore on 1 July 2021. Glasenberg led Glencore for 19 years.
Nagle joined Glencore in 2000. He ‘has worked across the marketing and industrial businesses in Australia, Colombia, South Africa, and Switzerland,’ according to an announcement of Glencore. For instance:
- Nagle joined Glencore in 2000 in Switzerland as part of the company’s Coal Business development team.
- From 2008 to 2013, Nagle worked as CEO of Prodeco, the Colombian coal operation of Glencore.
- He was head of Glencore’s Alloys Assets in South Africa from 2013 to 2018.
- Nagle was head of Glencore’s Coal Assets in Australia from 2019 until his CEO appointment.
The CEO of Glencore has commerce and accounting degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand. He also qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa in 1999.
Following his appointment as CEO, Nagle said: ‘I am grateful for the trust placed in me by the board and honoured to be appointed CEO at such an exciting time for Glencore. We will continue to deliver value to our shareholders while operating safely and responsibly.’
CEO of Naspers (Fabricio Bloisi)
Fabricio Bloisi is also the CEO of Naspers since 1 July 2024.
See ‘CEO of Prosus’ above.
CEO of Anglo American (Duncan Wanblad)
Duncan Wanblad became CEO of Anglo American on 19 April 2022 when he succeeded Mark Cutifani. On the same date, Wanblad also joined the board of the company as an executive director.
Wanbald started his career in the mining industry in 1990 when he joined Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company.
In a profile of Wanbald, Anglo American observes that ‘as Chief Executive, Duncan brings to the board more than 30 years of global mining experience and a deep understanding of Anglo American, its culture and context.’
His mining experience at Anglo American, inter alia, includes:
- August 2001 to July 2004: General manager of Anglo American Platinum’s process projects in the projects division.
- 2004 – 2007: Executive Director of Projects and Engineering at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats).
- Between 2009 and 2013: Held the position of Group Director – Other Mining and Industrial.
- From 2016 to 2022: Group Director – Strategy and Business Development.
- Leads the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), having served as a member since 2009.
Wanbald’s qualifications are BSc (Eng) Mech and GDE (Eng Management).
Commenting on his appointment as CEO, Wanbald inter alia said: ‘I am honoured that the board has given me the opportunity to lead this great company and our wonderful colleagues around the world. Having started my career underground as a junior engineer, I have never lost sight of what it takes to produce the metals and minerals that are ever more vital to support our life on this planet.’
CEO of FirstRand (Mary Vilakazi)
On 1 April 2024, Mary Vilakazi started as CEO of FirstRand, the biggest bank in South Africa by market capitalisation. She succeeded Alan Pullinger.
Vilakazi has put herself into the history books for being the first woman to lead FirstRand in its 185-year existence.
Prior to joining FirstRand as Chief Operating Officer (COO) in 2018, Vilakazi served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Deputy CEO of Momentum Metropolitan Holdings.
She was born and raised in Alexandra, Johannesburg where her mother taught her the basics of entrepreneurship from a young age.
In terms of education, Vilakazi holds a BCom Honours degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and qualified as a Chartered Accountant (CA) in 2002.
Commenting on the appointment of Vilakazi, the board of FirstRand said: ‘The board is delighted to appoint a strong internal candidate to the group CEO role.’
CEO of Standard Bank Group (Sim Tshabalala)
Sim Tshabalala took over as the sole group CEO of the Standard Bank group in September 2017, following a tenure of four years when he was joint group CEO alongside Ben Kruger since March 2013.
Tshabalala joined the Standard Bank Group in 2000 in the project finance division of Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank (SCMB). In 2001, he was appointed to the group executive committee.
Prior to his appointment as chief executive of Personal and Business Banking (PBB) in 2006, Tshabalala served as managing director of Stanbic Africa between 2002 and 2006.
In June 2008, he was appointed CEO of Standard Bank SA (SBSA), a position he held until January 2018.
Tshabalala’s education credentials are:
- BA, LLB (Rhodes University)
- LLM (University of Notre Dame, USA)
- HDip Tax (University of the Witwatersrand)
- Advanced Management Program (Harvard University)
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