Amplats admits it did not follow up
Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has broken its silence on the qualifications of former board member Thabi Leoka who resigned in January after revelations that she did not have a PhD as she has claimed for the past 15 years.
The platinum producer in its annual report published on Monday admitted it dropped the ball in confirming Leoka’s qualifications before appointing her to the board and the committees of audit and risk, remuneration and governance.
“A process of verification was done on her qualifications. The verification report confirmed that all qualifications, other than the PhD qualification, had been verified and confirmed. The verification of the PhD qualification was still ongoing at the time of the interview process. Regrettably, the completion of the verification process was not subsequently followed up,” the company said.
“Governance processes have been updated to ensure that full verification reports are received by the nomination committee as part of the candidate report. Thabi Leoka resigned from the board on 19 January 2024, in order to attend to her health and the questions she has been facing in relation to her academic qualifications.”
Business Day in January reported that Leoka did not hold a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics as she claimed. She has since resigned from the board of MTN SA, while President Cyril Ramaphosa terminated her membership of the presidential economic advisory council.
Leoka also had a stint on the board of Johann Rupert’s Remgro and private healthcare group Netcare, which was frank that it did not perform due diligence on Leoka’s PhD. This is despite the verification report it commissioned before appointing her as a nonexecutive director in 2021, indicating her highest qualification was a master’s degree.
THREE STEPS
Amplats outlined the process it follows when appointing directors. The three-step process includes the nomination committee identifying suitable candidates and recommends their appointment to the board.
The board, with “assistance from the appointed executive search”, then embarks on a “thorough, disciplined process” to vet candidates. Amplats said the executive search firm then presents profiles of identified candidates to the nomination committee for “calibration” purposes. A shortlist of potential candidates is then compiled, followed by interviews.
“The candidate report summarises the qualifications; any board positions, past or present; experience; and an individual assessment against the criteria set out in the position and candidate specification document, including personal characteristics, ” the Amplats ’ report reads.
“The report together with the candidates’ curricula vitae are used to assess their eligibility. An interview panel, comprising members of the nomination committee, including the lead independent director and chair of the audit and risk committee, as well as the chair of the remuneration committee, interviews the shortlisted candidates.”
Lapses in due diligence in Leoka’s appointment are likely to come up when Amplats holds its AGM in May.