Sappi, the R19bn paper and pulp multinational headquartered in South Africa, has appointed 46 year old chartered accountant Steve Binnie as its new CEO. Binnie, who joined Sappi as its financial director from Edcon in July 2012, succeeds Ralph Boëttger (53) who is stepping down for health reasons.
Prior to his decade as Edcon CFO, Binnie was Group Financial Manager at Investec and held senior management positions at Transunion ITC and New Zealand Milk Products. Binnie graduated from Wits University with B Comm and B Acc degrees and has an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Chairman Danie Crinje said: “The board believes Steve has all the necessary skills and atrributes to take Sappi Forward and to deliver strong growth.” He said the group’s new CFO would be appointed before the end of June.
Binnie’s former employer also announced executive changes this morning.
Edcon has appointed Belgian Toon Clerckx as chief financial officer to succeed Mark Bower who retires after 24 years with the group. Clerckx joins from the multinational Boots’ Health & Beauty division where he served as Chief financial officer.
Garth Napier has been appointed chief executive of Edcon’s Discount division Edcon has also announced the appointment of Harvard MBA Garth Napier as Chief executive of the Discount division, replacing Christo Claassen who has resigned.
Edcon CEO Jurgen Schreiber said: “We are excited about the changes we are making in the team. Toon and Garth bring with them a wealth of experience and fresh energy which will only strengthen our group.”
