Alexander Forbes has appointed Naidene Ford-Hoon as Group Chief Financial Officer and Christian Schaub as Group Chief Human Resources Officer.
Alexander Forbes said their appointment is subject to issuance of a work permit – and Thabo Mashaba who is assuming a new role of Group Chief Empowerment & Transformation Officer (GCETO).
The appointments are said to become effective from 1 September 2017.
Ford-Hoon joins the Group from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) where she was Group Chief Financial Officer. Her extensive strategic experience at SARB and in the corporate sector makes her the ideal candidate to assist Alexander Forbes in realising its strategic goals. “Naidene is a high calibre individual and an exceptional addition to our management team. She brings outstanding financial acumen, a combination of comprehensive corporate and public-sector experience at the highest levels at the central bank of South Africa, SARB. Naidene will provide sound judgement and strong challenge – qualities I value highly. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Bruce Bydawell for his substantial contribution over the past several months in his role as acting GCFO. Bruce will revert to his previous role and support
Naidene in building a best-in-class finance team”, says Group Chief Executive Andrew Darfoor.
Schaub comes from the Marsh & McLennan Companies, where he was Global Change Leader, Human Resources Transformation based in New York, US. “Marsh & McLennan Companies are global talent management leaders and Christian has been at the heart of this journey in helping the organisation transform and develop its people to maximise human capital performance. These are all necessary qualities and skills we welcome. Christian is an exceptional HR professional who has worked across a variety of industries, countries and cultures. He combines great operational and strategic HR skills which will be an asset to the Group during the next phase of our strategic transformation,” Darfoor said.
Mashaba was formerly GCHRO at Alexander Forbes and previously at ABSA bank, so his understanding of the financial sector and the B-BBEE transformation imperative is extensive. “Thabo’s experience with our brand and our people puts him in an ideal position to spearhead our executive-level commitment to empowerment and transformation and to lead our diversity imperatives. Included in his portfolio is our active contribution to society through the Alexander Forbes Community Trust,” concludes Darfoor. Darfoor said the three executives join a highly experienced and driven leadership team that is already
strongly executing the Group’s strategy to grow its business in the three business pillars of institutional, retail and emerging market sectors.
“We are delighted to welcome Naidene and Christian to the executive team, alongside a new role for Thabo within the Group. We have a crystal clear strategy and value proposition, a strong leadership team that is aligned and focused on the delivery of our strategy with speed and precision, and a focus on delivering on the significant upside potential that exists for Alexander Forbes in building a globally distinctive pan-African financial services leader operating in South Africa and selected emerging markets,” says Darfoor.
“We have been strengthening our leadership team with executive appointments in key executive roles. Working with my colleagues, I am confident of the future success of our strategy in helping our clients achieve a lifetime of financial well-being and security,” concludes Darfoor.
