Net1 has appointed Kuben Pillay as chairman of the board, effective 18 August 2021.
Pillay has been a non-executive director since June 2020 and fills this role as a result of the death of Jabu Mabuza who passed away as a result of Covid-19 complications earlier this year.
“I am truly humbled by this appointment and will continue on the strong path of renewal started by my predecessor, Jabu Mabuza, of ethical and values driven leadership, and a passion and commitment to better financial services for the underserved. I will seek to bring diverse localised management and board experience in governance, regulatory, digital, transaction processing and transformation,” says Pillay.
Pillay serves on a number of South African public and private corporate boards. These include being the chairman of Sabvest, and the Lead Independent Director of the OUTsurance group of companies, and a non-executive director of Transaction Capital. Pillay has previously served and retired as chairman of the boards, of Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), Primedia and Cell C.
The company has also appointed Nonkululeko Gobodo as an independent non-employee director to its board as of 18 August 2021. Gobodo will chair Net1’s Social and Ethics Committee and will be a member of its Audit Committee.
Gobodo is the first black female-chartered accountant in South Africa and brings a wealth of accounting and auditing experience from over 35 years of executive experience. She also has extensive experience as a non-executive director, having served on many boards including JSE listed Clicks Group, PPC and Shoprite Holdings, as well as Mercedes Benz, Imperial, the SA Maritime Authority, and the South Africa Revenue Service audit committee.
“I would like to extend a warm welcome to Nonku as she joins our company,” says Pillay. “We believe that she will contribute towards strengthening the leadership of Net1 as it fulfils its mandate of providing financial services to underserviced consumers in South Africa.”
Chris Meyer, Net1’s newly appointed Group CEO, says: “The new appointments bring a wealth of experience as prominent business leaders across the private and public sectors in Africa, including a strong track record with corporate turnarounds and we look forward to benefiting from their guidance.”
Lincoln Mali, Net1’s CEO Southern Africa, comments: “The difficult times South Africa faces call for the best minds with both a strong corporate track record and a passion for social justice to step up to key leadership roles. These inspired new appointments will greatly assist Net1 on in its chosen path of financial inclusion, which is an important element of creating a more equitable society.”