Board and management
Our Board commits itself to the
The Board sets the tone and instils a culture of integrity and compliance throughout the Group. Famous Brands’ Board is responsible for governance, setting the strategy and monitoring performance against strategic goals.
The directors are satisfied that Famous Brands complies substantially with the principles and spirit of King IV.
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors have the necessary experience to fulfil their fiduciary and stewardship duties as Directors of Famous Brands. Our non-executive Directors have, and do, act as Directors on the boards of other listed and non-listed companies.
Santie Botha
Independent non-executive Chairman
Darren Paul Hele
Chief Executive Officer
Deon Jeftha Fredericks
Group Financial Director
The Chairman of the Board is independent.
Qualifications
BEcon (Hons)
Role at Famous Brands
- Chairman of the Nominations Committee;
- member of the Remuneration Committee;
- member of the Investment Committee; and
- attends the Audit and Risk Committee meetings by invitation.
Directorships in other listed entities
- Curro Holdings – Independent Chairman; and
- Capitec Bank Holdings – Independent Chairman.
Santie served as an executive director of the MTN Group (2003 to 2010) and prior to that, of Absa Bank (1996 to 2003). She served as Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University from 2011 until 2017. Santie has received a range of awards, including Business Woman of the Year (2010).
Areas of expertise
Governance, general management, operations, marketing, strategy, remuneration, consumer insight and stakeholder relationships
Qualifications
BCom
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- attends all Committee meetings by invitation and attends various subsidiary and associate company Board meetings as a director.
Darren commenced his career at Pleasure Foods Limited while studying for and completing a BCom. After participating in the management buy-out of Pleasure Foods in 1996, he held executive roles at Whistle Stop and Wimpy before joining Famous Brands in 2003. He served as Managing Director of Wimpy in SA and later in the UK.
Darren was appointed Chief Operating Officer – Franchising division in May 2011 and in January 2013 assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Group. With effect from 1 March 2014, Darren assumed the role of CEO – Food Services. He was appointed CEO of the Group with effect from 1 March 2016.
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, marketing, strategy and stakeholder relationships
Qualifications
BCompt (Hons), Business Management (Hons), CA(SA), CIMA
Role at Famous Brands
- Group Financial Director
Deon has previously held various other directorships, including Telkom, Vodacom, BCX, Trudon, Gyro Group, SAA and the Telkom Retirement Fund.
Areas of expertise
General management, risk and finance
Alexander (Alex) Komape Maditse
Independent non-executive director
Fagmeedah Petersen-Cook
Independent non-executive director
Christopher Hardy Boulle
Independent non-executive director
Qualifications
BProc, LLB, LLM, Dip Company Law
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- member of the Nomination Committee.
Directorships in other listed entities
- African Rainbow Minerals Limited – lead independent director, member of the Board, Audit, Remuneration, and Social and Ethics Committees, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Remuneration Committee;
- The Bidvest Group Limited – member of the Board, Remuneration, and Social and Ethics Committees; and
- Murray & Roberts – member of the Board, Remuneration, and Social and Ethics Committees.
Alex is an admitted attorney and is currently the CEO of Copper Moon Trading Pty Limited. He serves as a director on several boards and committees of listed companies. He has previously held the positions of Country Manager Coca-Cola East and Central Africa and Franchise Operations Director of Coca-Cola SA.
Areas of expertise
Law, governance, strategy, franchising, management and operations
Role at Famous Brands
- Chairman of the Investment Committee;
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee; and
- Member of the Remuneration Committee.
Directorships in other listed entities
- Telkom SOC Pty Ltd – Board Member, member of the Nominations Committee, member of the Risk Committee and Chairman of the Investment Committee
- ABSA Financial Services Group – Board Member, member of the Group Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and member of the Actuarial Committee
- Pepkor – Board Member, Chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee and Chairman of the Audit Committee
- Escap – Board member, member of the audit committee, risk committee, social and ethics committee and nominations committee
Fagmeedah currently serves as a non-executive director for a range of diverse companies where she applies her strategic thinking and well-developed understanding of risk. She is a CD(SA) charter holder, and a certified director, and an experienced investment professional and has held C-suite roles in the public and private sector. Fagmeedah’s professional career as an actuary spans twenty-four years.
Areas of expertise
General management, actuarial science, risk management, strategy, investments, governance
Qualifications
BCom, LLB, LLM
Role at Famous Brands
- Chairman of the Remuneration Committee;
- chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- member and Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee meetings by invitation.
Directorships in other listed entities
- Advtech – Chairman and non-executive director
Chris is a commercial, corporate finance, tax and trust attorney and his expertise includes cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, Black economic empowerment transactions and advising on stock exchange listings both locally and internationally. His experience as a non-executive director of listed companies spans over two decades.
Areas of expertise
Law, governance, strategy, risk and corporate finance
Norman Joseph Adami
Independent non-executive director
John Lee Halamandres
Non-executive director
Nicolaos (Nik) Halamandaris
Non-executive director
Qualifications
B Bus, Sci (Hons), MBA
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee;
- member of the Nominations Committee; and
- member of the Investment Committee.
Directorships in other listed entities
- CCB Africa – Board member.
Norman had an extensive career with SABMiller, which commenced at SAB Pty Limited in 1979. He was appointed Managing Director of SAB in 1994 and Chairman in 2000. In 2003, he was installed as President and CEO of the newly acquired Miller Brewing Company. In 2006, he was appointed President and CEO of SABMiller Americas. In this position he was responsible for Miller Brewing Company and SABMiller’s South and Central American business units. In October 2008, he once again took on the role of Managing Director and Chairman of SAB Limited. He retired from SABMiller on 31 October 2014.
Norman is a partner in Stud Game Breeders, one of the pre-eminent groups leading the emergence of SA’s burgeoning game breeding industry, which has made great strides in revitalising threatened animal species and in creating sustainable employment in many rural areas.
Areas of expertise
General management, risk, strategy, marketing, operational management, mergers and acquisitions
With experience in all aspects of Famous Brands’ business, John retired from executive management in March 2001. A founding member of the Company, he served as Managing Director from November 1994 until March 1997, after which he assumed the role of CEO until his appointment as non-executive Deputy Chairman in March 2001, a position he held until May 2010.
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, governance and strategy
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- attends the Audit and Risk Committee meetings and Investment Committee meetings by invitation.
Nik has extensive experience in the food services industry, having been a franchisee of many of the Group’s mainstream brands over the past two decades up until 2010. He is currently an executive director of several non-listed property development and construction companies with primary responsibility for strategy and new business development.
Areas of expertise
General management, strategy, franchise management, food services and property management
Busisiwe Mathe
Independent non-executive director
Qualifications
Chartered Accountant (SA), Higher Diploma in Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting (University of the Witwatersrand), Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting (University of the Witwatersrand)
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Busisiwe is a seasoned business leader, with rich background in internal audit, external audit, digital transformation, cyber security and data privacy. She has worked across multiple industries and sectors both locally and globally. She has previously held the position of Africa Cyber Security & Data Privacy leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers and also served as the Chairperson of their South African Governing Board, member of their Africa Governance Board and Chairperson of their Human Capital Sub-Committee of the Africa Governing Board.
Busisiwe was recognized as an Emerging Business Leader by the African Woman Chartered Accountant (AWCA) in 2019.
Areas of expertise
Governance, risk management, technology, cyber security, data privacy, stakeholder management
Group Executive Committee
Our Group Exco comprises a diverse and experienced management team, consisting of the Group CEO and nine other members of senior management.
Darren Paul Hele
Chief Executive Officer
Deon Jeftha Fredericks
Group Financial Director
Celeste Appollis
BA LLB, H.Dip. (Company Law)
Qualifications
BCom
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- attends all Committee meetings by invitation and attends various subsidiary and associate company Board meetings as a director.
Darren commenced his career at Pleasure Foods Limited while studying for and completing a BCom. After participating in the management buy-out of Pleasure Foods in 1996, he held executive roles at Whistle Stop and Wimpy before joining Famous Brands in 2003. He served as Managing Director of Wimpy in SA and later in the UK.
Darren was appointed Chief Operating Officer – Franchising division in May 2011 and in January 2013 assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Group. With effect from 1 March 2014, Darren assumed the role of CEO – Food Services. He was appointed CEO of the Group with effect from 1 March 2016.
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, marketing, strategy and stakeholder relationships
Qualifications
BCompt (Hons), Business Management (Hons), CA(SA), CIMA
Role at Famous Brands
- Group Financial Director
Deon has previously held various other directorships, including Telkom, Vodacom, BCX, Trudon, Gyro Group, SAA and the Telkom Retirement Fund.
Areas of expertise
General management, risk and finance
Group Company Secretary and Head of Legal
Areas of expertise
Corporate law, governance, company secretarial, JSE listings environment, general legal administration, intellectual property law, mergers and acquisitions and competition law
Derrian Nadauld
NDip Catering Management, Certificate Marketing Management
Ntando Ndaba
BTech
Jean-Paul Renouprez
MBA, BSc Engineering
Chief Operating Officer – Leading Brands
Previous positions
Managing Director GBK and Wimpy UK, Managing Executive Franchising and Logistics, Chief Marketing Officer, Managing Executive Debonairs Pizza, Managing Executive Wimpy SA and General Manager Coffee Brands
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, marketing, strategy and operations
Group Risk Executive
Previous position
Internal Audit Manager
Areas of expertise
Governance, risk management, internal controls, forensics and ethics
Group Executive : Manufacturing and Logistics
Previous positions
Managing Executive : Manufacturing and Technical
Areas of expertise
Manufacturing, Supply Chain Planning and Management, Procurement
Philip Smith
A Levels (UK)
Jabulani Mahange
BA, BED (Wits), PDM (Wits), MBL (SA)
Andrew Mundell
BSc Agric (Hons), MBA (UCT)
Managing Director AME
Previous positions
General Manager Milky Lane and Brazilian Café, General Manager Mpumalanga RCOE and Managing Executive Western Cape RCOE
Areas of expertise
Brand management, franchise management, general management, operations, stakeholder relationships and strategy
Group HR Executive
Areas of expertise
HR strategy, organisational change, culture change, social and ethics, transformation/BBBEE and organisational development
Group Executive – Business Development
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, retail management, marketing, strategy and mergers and acquisitions
Santie Botha
Independent non-executive Chairman
The Chairman of the Board is independent.
Qualifications
BEcon (Hons)
Role at Famous Brands
- Chairman of the Nominations Committee;
- member of the Remuneration Committee;
- member of the Investment Committee; and
- attends the Audit and Risk Committee meetings by invitation.
Directorships in other listed entities
- Curro Holdings – Independent Chairman; and
- Capitec Bank Holdings – Independent Chairman.
Santie served as an executive director of the MTN Group (2003 to 2010) and prior to that, of Absa Bank (1996 to 2003). She served as Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University from 2011 until 2017. Santie has received a range of awards, including Business Woman of the Year (2010).
Areas of expertise
Governance, general management, operations, marketing, strategy, remuneration, consumer insight and stakeholder relationships
Norman Joseph Adami
Independent non-executive director
Qualifications
B Bus, Sci (Hons), MBA
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee;
- member of the Nominations Committee; and
- member of the Investment Committee.
Directorships in other listed entities
- CCB Africa – Board member.
Norman had an extensive career with SABMiller, which commenced at SAB Pty Limited in 1979. He was appointed Managing Director of SAB in 1994 and Chairman in 2000. In 2003, he was installed as President and CEO of the newly acquired Miller Brewing Company. In 2006, he was appointed President and CEO of SABMiller Americas. In this position he was responsible for Miller Brewing Company and SABMiller’s South and Central American business units. In October 2008, he once again took on the role of Managing Director and Chairman of SAB Limited. He retired from SABMiller on 31 October 2014.
Norman is a partner in Stud Game Breeders, one of the pre-eminent groups leading the emergence of SA’s burgeoning game breeding industry, which has made great strides in revitalising threatened animal species and in creating sustainable employment in many rural areas.
Areas of expertise
General management, risk, strategy, marketing, operational management, mergers and acquisitions
Christopher Hardy Boulle
Independent non-executive director
Qualifications
BCom, LLB, LLM
Role at Famous Brands
- Chairman of the Remuneration Committee;
- chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee;
- member and chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Directorships in other listed entities
- Advtech – Chairman and non-executive director
Chris is a commercial, corporate finance, tax and trust attorney and his expertise includes cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, Black economic empowerment transactions and advising on stock exchange listings both locally and internationally. His experience as a non-executive director of listed companies spans over two decades.
Areas of expertise
Law, governance, strategy, risk and corporate finance
Deon Jeftha Fredericks
Group Financial Director – elect
Qualifications
BCompt (Hons), Business Management (Hons), CA(SA), CIMA
Deon has previously held various other directorships, including Telkom, Vodacom, BCX, Trudon, Gyro Group, SAA and the Telkom Retirement Fund.
Areas of expertise
General management, risk and finance
Alexander (Alex) Maditse
Independent non-executive director
Qualifications
BProc, LLB, LLM, Dip Company Law
Role at Famous Brands
- Chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- member of the Nomination Committee.
Directorships in other listed entities
- African Rainbow Minerals Limited – lead independent director, member of the Board, Audit, Remuneration, and Social and Ethics Committees, Chairman of the Investment Committee and Remuneration Committee;
- The Bidvest Group Limited – member of the Board, Remuneration, and Social and Ethics Committees; and
- Murray & Roberts – member of the Board, Remuneration, and Social and Ethics Committees.
Alex is an admitted attorney and is currently the CEO of Copper Moon Trading Pty Limited. He serves as a director on several boards and committees of listed companies. He has previously held the positions of Country Manager Coca-Cola East and Central Africa and Franchise Operations Director of Coca-Cola SA.
Areas of expertise
Law, governance, strategy, franchising, management and operations
Nicolaos (Nik) Halamandaris
Non-executive director
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- attends the Audit and Risk Committee meetings and Investment Committee meetings by invitation.
Nik has extensive experience in the food services industry, having been a franchisee of many of the Group’s mainstream brands over the past two decades up until 2010. He is currently an executive director of several non-listed property development and construction companies with primary responsibility for strategy and new business development.
Areas of expertise
General management, strategy, franchise management, food services and property management
Busisiwe Mathe
Independent non-executive director
Qualifications
Chartered Accountant (SA), Higher Diploma in Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting (University of the Witwatersrand), Bachelor of Commerce – Accounting (University of the Witwatersrand)
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Busisiwe is a seasoned business leader, with rich background in internal audit, external audit, digital transformation, cyber security and data privacy. She has worked across multiple industries and sectors both locally and globally. She has previously held the position of Africa Cyber Security & Data Privacy leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers and also served as the Chairperson of their South African Governing Board, member of their Africa Governance Board and Chairperson of their Human Capital Sub-Committee of the Africa Governing Board.
Busisiwe was recognized as an Emerging Business Leader by the African Woman Chartered Accountant (AWCA) in 2019.
Areas of expertise
Governance, risk management, technology, cyber security, data privacy, stakeholder management
John Lee Halamandres
Non-executive director
With experience in all aspects of Famous Brands’ business, John retired from executive management in March 2001. A founding member of the Company, he served as Managing Director from November 1994 until March 1997, after which he assumed the role of CEO until his appointment as non-executive Deputy Chairman in March 2001, a position he held until May 2010.
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, governance and strategy
Darren Paul Hele
Chief Executive Officer
Qualifications
BCom
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Social and Ethics Committee
- Attends all Committee meetings by invitation and attends various subsidiary and associate company Board meetings as a director
Darren commenced his career at Pleasure Foods Limited while studying for and completing a BCom. After participating in the management buyout of Pleasure Foods in 1996 he held executive roles at Whistle Stop and Wimpy before joining Famous Brands in 2003. He served as Managing Director of Wimpy in South Africa and later in the United Kingdom.
Darren was appointed Chief Operating Officer – Franchising division in May 2011 and in January 2013 assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Group. With effect from 1 March 2014, Darren assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer – Food Services. Darren was appointed Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 March 2016.
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, marketing, strategy, stakeholder relationships
Fagmeedah Petersen-Cook
Independent non-executive director
Role at Famous Brands
- Chairman of the Investment Committee;
- Member of the Audit and Risk Committee; and
- Member of the Remuneration Committee.
Directorships in other listed entities
- Telkom SOC Pty Ltd – Board Member, member of the Nominations Committee, member of the Risk Committee and Chairman of the Investment Committee
- ABSA Financial Services Group – Board Member, member of the Group Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and member of the Actuarial Committee
- Pepkor – Board Member, Chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee and Chairman of the Audit Committee
- Escap – Board member, member of the audit committee, risk committee, social and ethics committee and nominations committee
Fagmeedah currently serves as a non-executive director for a range of diverse companies where she applies her strategic thinking and well-developed understanding of risk. She is a CD(SA) charter holder, and a certified director, and an experienced investment professional and has held C-suite roles in the public and private sector. Fagmeedah’s professional career as an actuary spans twenty-four years.
Areas of expertise
General management, actuarial science, risk management, strategy, investments, governance
Group Executive Committee
Our Group Exco comprises a diverse and experienced management team, consisting of the Group CEO and nine other members of senior management.
Darren Paul Hele
Chief Executive Officer
Qualifications
BCom
Role at Famous Brands
- Member of the Social and Ethics Committee; and
- attends all Committee meetings by invitation and attends various subsidiary and associate company Board meetings as a director.
Darren commenced his career at Pleasure Foods Limited while studying for and completing a BCom. After participating in the management buy-out of Pleasure Foods in 1996, he held executive roles at Whistle Stop and Wimpy before joining Famous Brands in 2003. He served as Managing Director of Wimpy in SA and later in the UK.
Darren was appointed Chief Operating Officer – Franchising division in May 2011 and in January 2013 assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Group. With effect from 1 March 2014, Darren assumed the role of CEO – Food Services. He was appointed CEO of the Group with effect from 1 March 2016.
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, marketing, strategy and stakeholder relationships
Deon Jeftha Fredericks
Group Financial Director
Qualifications
BCompt (Hons), Business Management (Hons), CA(SA), CIMA
Role at Famous Brands
- Group Financial Director
Deon has previously held various other directorships, including Telkom, Vodacom, BCX, Trudon, Gyro Group, SAA and the Telkom Retirement Fund.
Areas of expertise
General management, risk and finance
Celeste Appollis
BA LLB, H.Dip. (Company Law)
Group Company Secretary and Head of Legal
Areas of expertise
Corporate law, governance, company secretarial, JSE listings environment, general legal administration, intellectual property law, mergers and acquisitions and competition law
Jabulani Mahange
BA, BED (Wits), PDM (Wits), MBL (SA)
Group HR Executive
Areas of expertise
HR strategy, organisational change, culture change, social and ethics, transformation/BBBEE and organisational development
Andrew Mundell
BSc Agric (Hons), MBA(UCT)
Group Executive – Business Development
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, retail management, marketing, strategy and mergers and acquisitions
Derrian Nadauld
National Diploma Catering Management and Diploma Marketing Management
Chief Operating Officer – Leading Brands
Previous positions
Managing Director GBK and Wimpy UK, Managing Executive Franchising and Logistics, Chief Marketing Officer, Managing Executive Debonairs Pizza, Managing Executive Wimpy SA and General Manager Coffee Brands
Areas of expertise
General management, franchise management, marketing, strategy and operations
Ntando Ndaba
BTech (currently studying towards an LLB qualification)
Group Risk Executive
Previous position
Internal Audit Manager
Areas of expertise
Governance, risk management, internal controls, forensics and ethics
Jean-Paul Renouprez
B.SC Engineering (Industrial), MBA
Group Executive : Manufacturing and Logistics
Previous positions
Managing Executive : Manufacturing and Technical
Areas of expertise
Manufacturing, Supply Chain Planning and Management, Procurement
Philip Smith
A Levels (UK)
Managing Director AME
Previous positions
General Manager Milky Lane and Brazilian Café, General Manager Mpumalanga RCOE and Managing Executive Western Cape RCOE
Areas of expertise
Brand management, franchise management, general management, operations, stakeholder relationships and strategy
