Group management
![Thanaseelan Gobalsamy (Seelan) [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-seelan.jpg)
Seelan Gobalsamy
- Qualifications
- Chartered Accountant (SA) AMP (Harvard)
- Designation
- Chief Executive Officer
- Appointment date:
- 10 September 2018 - Board
- Board Committee membership
- Social, ethics and risk committee
- Significant directorships
- Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Limited, Momentum Metropolitan Life Limited
- Number of non-significant directorships
- 2
Skills and expertise: Finance, business management, strategy, mergers and acquisitions.
Experience:He is an accomplished, internationally experienced business leader, from the financial services sector. He has assumed senior leadership roles across Emerging Markets for close to 20 years including key leadership roles as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director. He served as Chief Executive of Emerging Markets for Liberty Holdings and previously the Group Chief Executive of STANLIB Group.
Prior to this he was Managing Director of Old Mutual Corporate.
![Stephan Serfontein [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-serfontein.jpg)
Stephan Serfontein
- Qualifications
- Chartered Accountant (SA)
- Designation
- Group Finance Director
- Date of appointment:
- 1 March 2020 - Board
Skills and expertise:
Finance, business management, strategy.
Experience:
He has been with Omnia Group for 8 years and successfully served as interim Financial Director since August 2019. He began his career at Deloitte Consulting and has 17 years of international finance experience in the manufacturing, chemicals, mining and agriculture industries. He has served on several boards, both locally and internationally, in an executive and non-executive capacity.
![Michelle Nana [photo]](/images/omnia/gm-michelle-nana.jpg)
Michelle Nana
- Qualifications
- LLB, FCIS, BA (Industrial Psychology and Sociology), Certified Director of the Institute of Directors South Africa
- Title
- Group Company Secretary
- Appointment date
- 1 July 2018
Experience:28 years in Company Secretarial and Corporate Governance, in both JSE-listed and unlisted companies. Sectors include telecommunications and construction.
![Ralf Hennecke [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-ralf-hennecke.jpg)
Ralf Hennecke
- Qualifications
- Mining Engineer, MBA
- Title
- BME’s Managing Director SADC, and Interim Managing Director
- Appointment date
- 1 August 2021
Experience:Ralf is a mining engineer with years of production experience in the mines of South Africa. He joined Omnia in 1995 with a key technical role in explosives and has been a member of BME’s executive committee since 2001. He leads a range of functions within BME, including Global blasting science, underground business, product management, and marketing and branding. He also heads up the company’s activities in global software development and technology, and global AXXIS Electronic Development and marketing. Ralf plays a role in Global Corporate Development and Strategy as well as commercial delegation of authority and is a director of several of BME’s African business entities.
![Mandla Mpofu [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-mandla-mpofu.jpg)
Mandla Mpofu
- Qualifications
- Post Graduate Certificate in Leadership, MBA, a Bachelor of Commerce Honours (B-Com Hons) and a Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators (CIS).
- Title
- Managing Director: SADC, Omnia Agriculture
- Appointment date
- 1 July 2021
Experience: Mandla joined the Omnia Group in June 2021, after spending 10 years at AFGRI, an agricultural services and processing company with a focus on grain commodities, in various roles and most recently as their CEO of AFGRI International. He has extensive experience in both the agriculture and mining sectors. At Omnia he is responsible for the Agricultural portfolio across core SADC markets, including Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe as well as satellite markets including Eswatini, the DRC, Malawi, Namibia and Angola.
![Tiaan Kotze [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-tiaan-kotze.jpg)
Tiaan Kotzé
- Qualifications
- Chartered Accountant (SA)
- Designation
- Chief Operating Officer
- Appointment date
- 1 February 2022
Skills and expertise: Finance, business management
Experience: Tiaan has extensive experience in general management including start-ups, turnarounds and group holding companies. Entities where Tiaan has held executive positions include Old Mutual SA, PSG Group, Liberty. Tiaan is a Chartered Accountant by profession. He completed his articles at Arthur Andersen and also spent a few years at their London Office. Tiaan's last position was CEO of Liberty's Corporate division, having successfully steered operations through the impact of COVID-19.
![Simphiwe Mdluli [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-simphiwe-mdluli.jpg)
Simphiwe Mdluli
- Qualifications
- LLB, LLM
- Designation
- Executive: Legal and Compliance
- Appointment date
- 1 May 2022
Skills and expertise: Finance, business management, legal, risk, compliance
Experience: Simphiwe was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa at the beginning of 2005. His previous experience includes Chief Compliance and Legal Officer responsible for overall compliance and legal management for Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Limited and all its subsidiaries (domestic and international). Prior to that he was the Regional Executive Director accountable for all of STANLIB’s businesses in East Africa and the Executive Head of Legal, Risk and Compliance at STANLIB responsible for Rest of Africa businesses. Simphiwe is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand for masters and other post-graduate students.
![Jacque De Villiers [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-jacque-de-villiers.jpg)
Jacques de Villiers
- Qualifications
- B.Eng (Mechanical)
- Title
- Head of supply chain
- Appointment date
- 1 June 2017
Experience: Jacques joined Omnia in 2001 as a mechanical engineer in Sasolburg. He was later transferred to Rustenburg to serve as Technical Manager on the phosphoric acid plant. In 2006, he joined the Omnia Group Projects team and acted as Project Manager for the construction of the nitrates complex at Sasolburg. In 2015 he was appointed as General Manager: Supply Chain for Fertilizer.
![Francois Visagie [photo]](/images/omnia/francois-visagie.jpg)
Francois Visagie
- Qualifications
- M.Eng (Chem), B. Com Economics, CFA level 2
- Title
- MD of Manufacturing
- Appointment date
- 1 April 2018
Experience: Francois completed a master’s degree in chemical engineering in 1994 at the University of Pretoria and started at Sasol Holdings in 1995, working in various roles in Sasol Technologies. Joined Omnia in 2002 as Production Manager and later Technical Manager. Appointed as Operations Manager at Süd-Chemie Sasol Catalysts (Pty) Ltd in 2005. Joined Omnia in 2007 as Project Manager and then moved in 2009 into various business development positions in Protea Chemicals and Omnia Fertilizers, before being promoted to Group Executive: Business Initiatives in 2018 and subsequently to MD of Manufacturing in 2020.
![Khabo Ramoupi [photo]](/images/omnia/dir-michael-smith.jpg)
Michael Smith
- Qualifications
- BSc (Chem Eng); MBA
- Title
- Managing director: Protea Chemicals and Protea Mining Chemicals
- Appointment date
- 1 April 2016
Experience: Michael has in excess of 25 years experience in the petrochemical and mining industries in a variety of technical, sales, marketing and management positions. He joined Protea Mining Chemicals in 2006 and held the position of commercial director until his promotion to managing director in 2016.