BRIDGESTONE CE IN SURPRISE RESIGNATION
TYRE manufacturer Bridgestone’s chief executive, Gavin Young, resigned yesterday after only three years in pole position, opting to go off-track to pursue other interests. Young was appointed in 2016 to engage the entire organisation to drive growth and profitability in the South African market. One of Young’s more visible landmarks in office is the conceptualising and building of the group’s iconic
4 800m² new headquarters in Waterfall City, Midrand, which were finished in record time, allowing more than 200 members of staff to work from there since April this year. “During his threeyear tenure, Young led a number of important initiatives to drive growth and profitability in Bridgestone’s South African operations,” the group said. Young, who succeeded Mike Halforty, leaves the driving seat to Mete Ekin, regional managing director for the Middle East and Africa, who the company said would in the interim continue to work with the local executive and management team to ensure that Bridgestone South continued to execute against its strategic goals.
| SPECIALIST risk finance company Business Partners Ltd said yesterday that it aimed to approve about R1.4 billion and disburse R1.15bn in finance in the 2019/2020 financial year in a bid to contribute to greater economic growth in the year to come. “We are confident that the 2019/2020 financial year will bring even more quality returns for our shareholders, as well as the clients that we serve,” said managing director Ben Bierman. He said that during the last financial year, Business Partners had approved R1.027bn in business finance to 308 businesses in South Africa, representing an increase in the number of companies that it was able to reach this year, up from 295 businesses last year. He said that in spite of challenging conditions over the last 12 months, the group had seen noteworthy improvements in key areas. He said the company had grown its financial assistance to female business owners by disbursing 39.8 percent of total disbursements to the group, up from 36.9 percent in the 2017/2018 financial year. The disbursements to black business owners had also increased, from 40.5 percent in the prior year to 41.2 percent in the year ended March 31, 2019. | African News Agency (ANA)