Darren Hele and Santie Botha appointed to Famous Brands board
May 29th, 2012 by Susan Reynard | Categories: food, industry, people, restaurants
Famous Brands’ CEO, Kevin Hedderwick, has announced that the group has appointed two new directors to the board, and looks forward to the contribution which each of these directors will make in terms of their specialist skills and experience. The appointments are effective from 1 June 2012.
Darren Hele has been appointed as an executive director. He commenced his career at Pleasure Foods Limited while studying for and completing a BCom. Degree. After participating in the management buyout of Pleasure Foods in 1996 he held executive roles at Whistle Stop and Wimpy before joining Famous Brands in 2003. He served as the MD of Wimpy in South Africa and the United Kingdom for eight years and three years respectively. Hele was appointed chief operating officer of Famous Brands’ franchising division in May 2011 and has responsibility for managing the group’s brand portfolio.
Hedderwick says, “Darren’s appointment is recognition of the outstanding performance he has delivered in every role which he has filled in the business since joining the group in 2003.”
Santie Botha (who has a B.Econ Honours) has been appointed as a non-executive director. She is currently Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth and a non-executive director of Tiger Brands and Imperial Holdings.
She served as an executive director of the MTN Group (2003 – 2010) and prior to that, of ABSA Bank (1996 – 2003). She commenced her career at Unilever, which culminated in her appointment as commercial sales director of VdB Foodservice, UK, in 1996.
Botha has received a range of awards including Marketer of the Year (Marketing Federation of South Africa, 2002) and Business Woman of the Year (2010).
Hedderwick says, “For some time now we have been searching for a board member who will bring strong strategic and marketing skills to our business and in this regard Santie is an outstanding appointment. I am delighted that we have attracted someone of Santie’s calibre to our board.”
