New appointments, position at FEDHASA

Caleb Mabaso

Caleb Mabaso has been appointed head of strategic projects; Schalk Cilliers has been appointed chairperson of the inland region; Michelè de Witt has been appointed chairperson of the Cape region; Mike Jackson has been elected chairperson of the east coast region; and Charles Preece has been appointed to the permanent position of operations manager for the east coast region.

Powerful industry backgrounds

Mabaso brings with him extensive experience in relevant sectors. He has been in HR in leading hotel groups; held the position of chair of CATHSSETA (Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority) until April 2011; chair of the FEDHASA inland region and MD of his own consulting company for six years. He says, "The association's remodelling to create a new revenue stream landscape enables a process of identifying opportunities for innovative projects and programmes that are sustainable and will add value to our members of the association."

Eddy Khosa, chairperson of FEDHASA, comments, "As past chair of the inland region, by far the biggest region within the association, he brings huge value and experience to the role of head of strategic projects. He sat on the CATHSSETA board and has a skills and knowledge base from which the association can draw value."

Cilliers, who is executive director of ATKV, will oversee a region that includes Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo. He says that in these difficult economic times, it will be more important than ever for the association to secure benefits for its members, while also broadening the type of benefits that are sourced. He believes that improved communication among the different stakeholders related to the association will have a positive effect on relations and will be beneficial to members.

Michelè de Witt has been appointed Chairperson of the Cape region, including Western and Northern Cape. De Witt is a director of Horwath HTL South Africa, an independent member firm of Crowe Horwath International's Hotel, Tourism and Leisure Group, responsible for all hotel, tourism and leisure consulting in South Africa and the rest of the African continent. Her region includes Western Cape and Northern Cape.

Jackson, Tsogo Sun's operations director of the KwaZulu-Natal Region, will be responsible for KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. He was previously vice-chairman of the east coast region, president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and served for four years as chair of the DCCI Tourism Committee. Jackson is wholly committed to grow tourism in his region through bringing both business and leisure guests to the area. "I'm excited about the challenge and plan to take the region to another level in that we are planning to grow membership and give members even more benefits, making the association more attractive than ever."

Preece comes from a 26-year background in the hotel industry, many of them as GM for various groups. He is new to the association board and is enthusiastic about his role as a facilitator on behalf of industry and the membership, advocating at government and industry level to ensure the members benefit from various interventions.

"This new board represents a powerful cross-section of our industry. Each of the board members and new appointments bring with them strong positions in the industry, as well as a wealth of knowledge, skills, and insight into our dynamic industry, that will stand the association in excellent stead, as it embraces the challenges of the future. We join as an association in congratulating each one on their new positions and look forward to seeing the fruits of their labours on behalf of the association in the near future," concludes Khosa.