Wendy Luhabe to join STAR’s board as director next year
STEINHOFF Africa Retail (STAR) announced yesterday that businesswoman Wendy Luhabe would join its board as non-executive director next year. The group said Luhabe would bring a wealth of experience to the board, flowing from her experience in the corporate sector.
STAR chairperson Jayendra Naidoo said the group looked forward to Luhabe’s contributions in repositioning the company.
“Luhabe has an impressive track record as a business leader and has made a huge impact in the business community in South Africa. We are thrilled that she has joined STAR and look forward to her contribution,” Naidoo said.
Luhabe, who has served on the boards of leading institutions such as the Industrial Development Corporation, Vodacom and the JSE, will join Heather Sonn and Fagmeedah Petersen-Cook on the board.
She is one of the founding directors of Women Investment Portfolio Holdings, a leading black women-owned investment company.
The group described her as a passionate advocate for the economic empowerment of women, youth mentorship and social entrepreneurship. It said she would fill the void left by Ben la Grange in January.
‘Luhabe has an impressive track record as a business leader and has made a huge impact in the business community.’
“Appointments to the board are based on levels of skill, acumen, experience and actual or potential contributions to the group, having due regard to employment equity and gender diversity requirements,” the group said.
Luhabe will join STAR as the group battles to forge a separate identity from its beleaguered parent company Steinhoff International. Last month, STAR announced that it would propose for a change of its name back to Pepkor, subject to shareholders’ approval to divorce itself completely from Steinhoff International.
The group said the historic Pepkor brands represented the vast majority of STAR’s current business and the corporate brand has enormous brand equity and a long legacy.
The group further announced that Johan Cilliers will join the board as lead independent non-executive director, effective immediately, and Pieter Erasmus, former chief executive of Pepkor, as non-executive director as of October 1, 2018.
STAR’s retail brands include Pep, Ackermans, Dealz, Russells, Bradlows, John Craig, Shoe City, Poco and Tekkie Town. The group was listed on the JSE in September last year with a market capitalisation of R70 billion and it operates in 12 African countries with 5 100 stores across the continent.