Pick n Pay Stores Limited
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman
Gareth Ackerman (57) # 
‡
BSocSci, CMS (Oxon)
Chairman
Corporate governance committee and nominations committee chairman
Appointed 1990 Years of service: 31
An executive at Pick n Pay for 15 years, Gareth headed up various divisions of the Group before being appointed to the Board in 1990. He became a non-executive director in 1999, and from 2002 to 2010 served as Chairman of Pick n Pay Holdings Limited RF. In 2010 he was appointed Chairman of Pick n Pay Stores Limited. Among his other interests, Gareth is co-chair of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, and serves as vice co-chair of the international Consumer Goods Forum.
Other listed company directorships: Pick n Pay Holdings Limited RF.
Pick n Pay Stores Limited has a strong and balanced Board of directors. Each director makes a valuable contribution relevant to their individual field of expertise, whether retail, finance, law, strategy or information technology. All demonstrate sound judgement, effective communication skills and the ability and willingness to participate in meaningful and robust debate. All have provided strong ethical leadership. All members of the Board share the strong values of the Pick n Pay Group.
* Member of audit and risk committee
# Member of remuneration committee
r Member of corporate governance committee
‡ Member of nominations committee
^ Member of social and ethics committee
£ Member of corporate finance committee
Executive directors
Richard Brasher (53)
BSc (Hons)
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed 2013 Years of service: 2
Richard joined Pick n Pay as Chief Executive Officer in 2013 and is leading a plan to restore the business to sustainable long-term growth. He has an outstanding track record spanning over 25 years in international retail. He has developed and led one of the world’s most iconic brand loyalty programmes, created one of the first global commercial sourcing operations, built an enduring and much imitated private label strategy, and was instrumental in leading a traditional food retail business into the online and convenience markets.
Richard van Rensburg (53)
CA(SA)
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Appointed 2009 Years of service: 6
Richard has extensive experience in retail and information technology, with Woolworths, Massmart and Affinity Logic. In 2009 he joined the Board of Pick n Pay as an independent non-executive director. In 2011, Richard became deputy CEO. In this role, Richard takes responsibility for the e-commerce portfolio of the Group.
Aboubakar (Bakar) Jakoet (58)
CA(SA)
Chief Finance Officer
Appointed 2011 Years of service: 29
Bakar joined the Group in 1984, working in the national finance office, heading up special projects and new business. He was appointed divisional manager in 1993 and served on the retail board as chief finance controller since its inception in 1995. He was appointed as CFO and a member of the Board in 2011.
In addition to his responsibilities at Pick n Pay, Bakar is a member of the University of Cape Town Council, Chairman of the UCT Remuneration Committee and Deputy Chairman of the UCT Finance Committee. He is a director of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, and is a member of their audit committee.
Suzanne Ackerman-Berman (52) ^
BA, Fellow: Aspen Business Institute; First Movers
Social and ethics committee chairman
Appointed 2010 Years of service: 20
Following broad executive experience in the Group, Suzanne was appointed director of transformation in 2007. In addition to her executive contribution to the Group, in March 2010 she was appointed to the Board as a representative of the controlling shareholder.
Suzanne is very active philanthropically and is a passionate proponent of enterprise development. She is chairman of the Ackerman Pick n Pay Enterprise Development Fund, and head of the Pick n Pay Small Business Incubator.
Other listed company directorships: Alternate director of Pick n Pay Holdings Limited RF.
Jonathan Ackerman (47)
BA Marketing
Appointed 2010 Years of service: 22
Returning to South Africa after studying and working in the USA, Jonathan joined Pick n Pay in 1992. Having worked in many divisions, Jonathan ensures that the wellbeing of Pick n Pay’s customers is the primary motivating factor for any strategic decision taken in the Group in his current role as Customer Director. In March 2010 he was appointed to the Board as a representative of the controlling shareholder.
Other listed company directorships: Alternate director of Pick n Pay Holdings Limited RF.
Non-executive directors
David Friedland (61) ‡ £
CA(SA)
Appointed 2013
David was the audit engagement partner and lead/relationship partner at KPMG for several listed companies, as well as large owner-managed companies, principally in the retail sector. David has been associated with Pick n Pay as an external auditor since 1977, and was the audit engagement partner from 2000 to 2007.
Other listed company directorships: Investec Limited, Investec plc, The Foschini Group Limited.
David Robins (61) £
BBusSci
Appointed 2002
David joined the Group in 1994 and was appointed in 2005 as the executive responsible for expansion outside of South African borders. In 2002 he was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Group and as an executive director. During 2008 he retired from his executive position. He remains on the Board as a non-executive director and as a representative of the controlling shareholder.
Other listed company directorships: Alternate director of Pick n Pay Holdings Limited RF.
Independent non-executive directors
Hugh Herman (74) *# £
Attorney
Lead independent non-executive director and remuneration committee chairman
Appointed 1976
Hugh was a partner at law firm Sonnenberg Hoffmann Galombik before joining Pick n Pay in 1976. He was Managing Director of Pick n Pay from 1986, before joining Investec Bank in 1993. Hugh was appointed Group Chairman of Investec Bank Limited in 1994, a position from which he retired in 2011. Hugh was appointed honorary life president of the Investec Group and remains chairman of various subsidiary companies in the Investec Group.
Other listed company directorships: Growthpoint Properties Limited, Pick n Pay Holdings Limited RF.
Lorato Phalatse ( 53) ‡^ £
BA (Hons), MA
Appointed 2010
Lorato began her working career in the FM CG sector at Unilever and at Johnson & Johnson. After moving to Nedperm in the retail banking sector, she was seconded to the Women’s Development Bank. One of the founders, and the first CEO of Nozala Investments Proprietary Limited, she sat on the boards of companies such as Tsebo/Fedics, Kyocera and Afripack. Lorato has also spent time in the public sector with both provincial and national government, ultimately heading up the Private Office of the President of South Africa. Lorato is Chairman of The Bidvest Group and is on the board of Masisizane.
Other listed company directorships: The Bidvest Group.
John Gildersleeve (70) # £
Appointed 2013
John has many years of experience in retail, and is a director and chairman of various companies in the United Kingdom. During his 20 years as an executive director of Tesco, John was responsible for personnel, marketing, store development and commercial operations. He was closely associated with Tesco’s international expansion. John is currently Chairman of British Land Company PLC, the second largest property company in the United Kingdom. He also serves as the Chairman of Rent+ Ltd and Freston Road Ventures LLP, as Deputy Chairman of Talk Talk PLC and Spire PLC, and as a director of Dixons/Carphone Warehouse PLC.
Resident in the United Kingdom, John travels to South Africa to attend board meetings.
Ben van der Ross (68) *# ‡ £
Attorney
Appointed 2000
Ben was admitted as an attorney and conveyancer in 1970. He practised law for his own account until 1988, and continues to consult for Van der Ross Motala Attorneys. He is a former director of the Urban Foundation and Independent Development Trust, and former CEO of the South African Rail Commuter Corporation Limited, as well as Business South Africa. He was a commissioner of the Independent Electoral Commission for South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994. Ben serves as Chairman of Strategic Real Estate Management Limited.
Other listed company directorships: Distell Group Limited, FirstRand Limited, Lewis Group Limited, MMI Holdings Limited, Naspers Limited.
Audrey Mothupi (44) * £
BA (Hons)
Appointed 2013
Audrey held various positions as a management consultant before being appointed as head of strategy at SABC for two years for the public broadcasting service. Audrey then joined Liberty Life, within the Standard Bank Group, where she held the position of Chief Executive: Group Strategic Services, before moving to Standard Bank. At Standard Bank, Audrey was head of inclusive banking, taking responsibility for the provision of banking services to the unbanked communities. Audrey has recently joined Systemic Logic Group, an advisory/innovation company, as the Chief Executive Officer. She is also a Fellow of the African Leadership Initiative as part of the Aspen Leadership Network.
Audrey is active in charities involving education and vulnerable children.
Jeff van Rooyen (65) r * £
BCom (SA), Hons BCompt SA, CA(SA)
Audit and risk committee and corporate finance committee chairman
Appointed 2007
A chartered accountant with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, Jeff is the founder CEO of Uranus Investment Holdings (Pty) Limited. His involvement in the accounting profession over the years is extensive. Former appointments include being a Trustee of the IFRS Foundation, Chairman of the Public Accountants and Auditors Board (now IRBA) and founder President of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants. His public sector record is equally extensive; former appointments include Chairman of the Financial Reporting Standards Council, Executive Officer of the Financial Services Board and member of the Standing Advisory Committee on Company Law. Jeff presently serves as a member of the Advisory Committee, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, University of Pretoria.
Other listed company directorships: MTN Group Limited, Exxaro Resources Limited.
Company Secretary
Debra Muller (52)
Attorney
Appointed 2010 Years of service: 9
Debra was appointed as an attorney in 1988. From 1994 she assisted Pick n Pay as a legal consultant and was appointed in 2006 as in-house legal adviser, working with contractual and compliance issues. Appointed as Company Secretary to the Pick n Pay Group in 2010, Debra also heads up the legal department.
Mr Raymond Ackerman and Mrs Wendy Ackerman both hold the ambassadorial position of Honorary Life President of Pick n Pay Stores Limited in recognition of their dedicated service.