Change of Guard at Hangala Group - Dr Hangala retires as Executive Chairman
Hangala Group
(Pty) Ltd, a diversified, wholly-Namibian owned business that since 2009 has
been a significant contributor to Namibia’s economy, is pleased to announce Board
and management changes that will position the Group for the next decade and
beyond of growth and opportunity.
With effect
from 1 May 2023, the Group’s founder, Dr. Leake S. Hangala, will be stepping
down from his role as Group Executive Chairman. A committee of independent
directors of the Group’s Board, after due deliberation, has resolved on the
creation of a new position of Group Chief Executive Officer (Group CEO) and the
appointment to that position of Mr Pameni Ndeulikufa Hangala, also with effect
from 1 May 2023. At age 31 and well
equipped with a B.A. degree in
International Relations and Politics from the University of Witwatersrand and
an M.Sc. degree in Global Supply Chain Management and Logistics from the University
of Sussex, UK, Pameni already has close to a decade of hands-on responsible
business and managerial experience, beginning at firms outside the Group and
most recently within the Group as the Managing Director of Hangala Foods (Pty)
Ltd.
At the Board
level, and as a successor to Dr Hangala, the Board has appointed one of its
long-serving directors and a leading Namibian business personality, Ms Evangelina
Nangula Hamunyela, as non-executive Group Chairperson. Ms Hamunyela has worked
in large private and public enterprises, including as Managing Director of Nedloans
and Engen Namibia, respectively. Ms Hamunyela is currently the Chairperson of
the Namibia Ports Authority’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Hangala
will remain on the Group’s Board of Directors in a non-executive capacity,
helping drive strategic growth in high-potential new business areas for the
Group, such as energy and agri-business.
Pending entry
into the energy sector, Hangala Group’s four operating subsidiaries, each with
its own management and Board, will remain Hangala Foods (Pty) Ltd, Hangala
Properties (Pty) Ltd, Hangala Construction (Pty) Ltd and Hangala Capital (Pty)
Ltd. Since inception the Group’s distinguishing characteristic, in addition to establishing
in-house competency and capacity-building,
has been its emphasis on operating in partnerships with blue-chip sectoral players,
and these will not be confined to the aforesaid areas, but will be expanded to
the energy and agri-business fields.
Speaking
of the changes, Dr.Hangala said: “ I am happy to step back and hand-over the
daily operating responsibilities to a young, diverse and dynamic management team ready to take the Group to the next level.
This will also give me the freedom to focus on issues of the Group’s broader
strategic direction with my fellow non-executive directors. Of course, it is
personally gratifying to see Pameni gaining the trust and confidence of the Board
to be appointed as a Group CEO and I have no doubt, working both under the
stewardship of our vastly experienced Group Board and in collaboration with his
peers on the Group Exco that he will steer the Company to higher levels. I wish
him all the best”.
Incoming
Hangala Group Chairperson, Ms Hamunyela stated: “On behalf of all my
colleagues on the Group Board of Directors as well as Management and staff, I would
like to thank Dr Hangala for his unique visionary leadership and unrelenting
efforts over the years, his wisdom in developing competent next generation leadership to take over the operating reins of
the Group, and his agreement to continue being deployed as a strategic sounding
board. Undoubtedly, the Group will benefit from his vast knowledge and
extensive experience in business leadership. It will be an honour to assume the
role of non-executive Group Chairperson and a privilege to work with the Group
Exco members, each of whom share our common vision of being at the forefront of business excellence.”
Incoming
Group CEO Pameni Hangala stated: “I am profoundly honoured and humbled to have
been selected by the independent non-executive directors of the Group to take
on the new responsibility of Group CEO. I will spare no effort to justify their
confidence and, of course, will take comfort from the fact that I can still
walk down the hall to my father’s office to tap into his wisdom and immense
institutional memory. Knowing that he is always the first to arrive in the
morning and last to depart in the evening is rather assuring as I will continue
to have ease of access to him and readily benefit from his unparalleled
expertise.”
Issued by and
further enquiries: Group Company
Secretary, Ms Ndina Naukushu, +264-61-410700, ndina@hangala.com