The group has appointed Professor Fatima Abrahams and Fatima Jakoet as independent non-executive directors, with Bertina Engelbrecht, the group human resources director of New Clicks, being appointed as an executive director. The appointments will come into effect on 1 March 2008.
Professor Abrahams is senior professor in industrial psychology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and is a non-executive director of the Foschini Group and the Lewis Group.
Fatima Jakoet is a chartered accountant with extensive executive experience in large corporations and is an accomplished non-executive director, with current directorships including the SA Reserve Bank, Metropolitan Holdings, Metropolitan Health Group and Impala Platinum.
Bertina Engelbrecht is an experienced human resources professional. She joined New Clicks in July 2006 and is a member of the group's executive committee. She has made a major contribution in strengthening the group's HR processes and implementing people management strategies across the business over the past two years.
New Clicks chairman, David Nurek, said the appointment of the three directors will bring complementary skills to the group and strengthen the board's expertise in the fields of human resources, transformation management, employment equity, remuneration and finance.
“The appointments also show the group's commitment to transformation and bring gender diversity to the board. It is critical that our board becomes more reflective of our customer base and these appointments go some way to achieving this objective. These appointments have increased black representation on the board to 40%, with female directors now comprising 30% of the board,” said Nurek.
