Today in Cape Town, South Africa, Synercore Food Holdings announced the appointment of Mr. Kobus Nel and Mr. Hannes Wagener as Non-Executive Directors. In addition to his appointment as Non-Executive Director, Mr. Nel will act as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Nel, CA(SA) CFA, is a co-founding member of Fairtree Capital established in 2006 and currently holds the position of Chief Executive Officer. Fairtree Capital, based in Cape Town, South Africa is an African investment manager that manages alternative and long only investment portfolios across all global asset classes for institutional clients and high net worth individuals. Under Mr. Nel’s leadership, Fairtree has excelled, and with the company’s investment philosophy firmly entrenched, Fairtree has continued to deliver high-quality returns to investors. The products currently under management include a variety of equity, fixed income, credit, commodity, volatility arbitrage, balanced and multi-strategy mandates, with over R30 billion ($2,25 billion) combined assets under management.
Mr. Wagener, B.Eng. Mech. (Ind.), retired from Parmalat Africa early in 2016 after a successful career within the Food Industry spanning more than 35 years, serving as Operations Director for companies such as Langeberg Foods: Division of Tiger Brands, Towerkop and Parmalat. During his employment at Parmalat since 1998, he served as Director for all 5 Parmalat Africa companies. During his tenure as Operations Director and Industrial Executive for Parmalat Africa, Mr. Wagener was responsible for Production, Technical Functions and driving operational excellence, New Product Development and Process Innovation within the group. Group Managers for Industrial SA, Industrial Rest of Africa, Research & Development, Quality, Technical and SHER reporting to him directly. He is highly regarded by his peers and respected in the industry, and his contribution was instrumental in establishing Parmalat as one of the leading dairy companies in Southern Africa.
According to Dr. Tertius Cilliers, Managing Director of Synercore Food Holdings, these appointments reaffirm the company’s long-term strategy and active commitment to creating the most competitive food innovation and ingredients supplier in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Synercore Managing Director, Dr. Tertius Cilliers: “As a company we are privileged and delighted that Kobus and Hannes accepted their nomination to the Board of Directors of Synercore Food Holdings. Both individuals bring to Synercore a wealth of proven and seasoned professional and personal skills which will blend very well with Synercore’s experienced management team and company culture. They will mainly focus on guidance of the executive management team as far as the company’s strategy, corporate governance and operational excellence are concerned. They are exceptional individuals with a wealth of knowledge and their respective track records speak for themselves. Importantly, they fit the company’s culture and will assist as mentors in establishing a sustainable company committed to customer excellence and delivering return to shareholders.”
CEO Fairtree Capital & Chairman Synercore, Mr. Kobus Nel: “I am honoured to have been elected as the Chairman of the Board at Synercore Food Holdings. The anticipated growth in agriculture and the food sector in general creates interesting opportunities for investment, and many global companies are investing in Sub-Saharan Africa for this very reason. The population in Africa is expected to almost double to approximately 2 billion people by 2050, more than 25% of the estimated total world population of 9.7 billion people at the time. The dramatic estimated population growth in Africa presents serious challenges as far as food demand and production is concerned. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, food production in the developing countries would need to double in order to serve the local demand and as a result feeding the world would mean formulating and producing foods that will ensure nutrition security. Synercore Food Holdings as a group is very well positioned to innovate in this sector in-line with market developments.”
Director of Synercore, Mr. Hannes Wagener: “I am excited to join the Synercore team and to guide them to achieve operational excellence and creating sustainable growth within the company. As a relatively new grouping of companies, the integration activities and leveraging of synergies need to be carefully managed to ensure long-term sustainability, while still maintaining current and short-term operational efficiencies and profitability. I believe that the management team has invested in the right human capital to achieve this and I am looking forward to play a role in establishing Synercore as a leader in new product and process development within the food industry.”