1. Buddy Hawton (69) FCIS
Chairman (Independent)
Current directorships include: Liberty Group, Liberty Holdings, Nampak, Royale Resorts Holdings (Chairman), Standard Bank Group, Stanlib, Sun Hotels International, Sun International (Chairman) and The Standard Bank of South Africa.
Buddy has extensive experience as both an executive and non-executive director. Previous directorships include Altron, City Lodge Hotels, Rennies Group, Safmarine and Rennies Holdings (Chairman), South African Marine Corporation (Chairman) and he was the executive chairman of Sun International. He joined the board as non-executive Chairman in 2002.
2. Simon Susman (56)
Chief executive officer
Current directorships include: Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, Country Road Limited and membership of the board of the Intercontinental Group of Departmental Stores.
Simon joined Woolworths in 1982 after working at a clothing and food retailer, Marks and Spencer p.l.c. in London. At Woolworths he led the retail operations, food and clothing groups and was appointed to the board in 1995. He became the Chief executive officer in 2000.
3. Mair Barnes (61) (British) BA (Hons)
Independent non-executive director
Current directorships include: Gant Company AB.
Mair has international retail experience and was the managing director of Woolworths p.l.c and the Chairman of an international optical retailing group, operating across Europe. Her past non-executive directorships include Scottish Power p.l.c, Abbey National p.l.c and George Wimpey p.l.c amongst others. She joined the board as a non-executive director in 2000.
4. Nigel Colne (66) (British)
Independent non-executive director
Appointed 1997
Current directorships include: The Chairmanship of Town Centre Restaurants and a trustee of The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
Nigel has international experience in clothing and food retailing, and was a director of Marks and Spencer p.l.c from 1982 to 1997. He also acquired financial services experience as a non-executive director at Halifax Building Society and Halifax p.l.c. His other past non-executive directorships include Pizza Express p.l.c. and Stylo p.l.c. Nigel became a non-executive director in 1994.
5. Brian Frost (62) B Com, AMP (Harvard)
Independent non-executive director
Current directorships include: Bowler Metcalf
Brian joined Woolworths in 1981 and was appointed as a director in 1986. He was responsible for certain business areas, including food, franchise and store operations prior to being appointed joint managing director in 1996. He became a non-executive director in 2000.
6. Richard Inskip (44) B Com
Executive director
Chairman of Wooltru Healthcare Fund.
Richard became part of the Woolworths information technology team in 1991 following his experience in the software and retail industries. He was appointed to the board in 2001 and his current portfolio includes responsibility for information technology, strategy, supply chain and financial services.
7. Mike Leeming (62) B Com, M Com, FCMA, FIBSA, AMP (Harvard)
Independent non-executive director
Current directorships include: AECI, Allied Electronics Corporation, Glenrand MIB and Imperial Holdings.
Mike was previously the Chief operating officer at Nedcor and has an indepth knowledge of financial services as well as manufacturing. He joined the board in 2004.
8. Chris Nissen (48) BA Hons, MA
Independent non-executive director
Current directorships include: Boschendal (Chairman), Randgold and Exploration, Sea Harvest Corporation (Chairman), Standard Bank Group,Tiger Brands and Umoya Fishing (Chief Executive).
Chris has been extensively involved in the development and upliftment of communities both as a Minister in the Presbyterian church and subsequently as a member of the African National Congress party. Furthermore, he has managerial experience in a number of businesses, and as a non-executive director has proactively led empowerment and transformation at a number of listed companies.
9. Norman Thomson (55) B Com, CA (SA)
Executive director
Current directorships include: Country Road Limited.
Norman joined Woolworths in 1991 in a logistics capacity and introduced our integrated supply chain management. He was appointed to the board in 2001 and was responsible for corporate stores, franchise and distribution. He became finance director in 2002.
10. Sindi Zilwa (39) B Compt (Hons), CA (SA)
Independent non-executive director
Current directorships include: Discovery Holdings, Eskom, Mawarune Women’s Investments, Nkonki Consulting, Primedia, Sikhona Financial Advisors, Strate Limited and is a member of the Government Pension Advisory committee.
Sindi became the second black woman chartered accountant in South Africa in 1990 and has previously served on the boards of Telkom and Wiphold amongst other companies. She joined the board as a non-executive director in 2002.
11. Cherrie Lowe (51) FCIS
Head: corporate governance and Group secretary
Cherrie joined Woolworths in 1997 as Company secretary just before the re-listing of the group on the JSE. She is responsible for all aspects of corporate governance, risk and audit, legal and corporate affairs, and is a member of the executive team.
