Sanral appoints Reginald Demana as new CEO

Source: Hendrik van den Berg via Wikimedia Commons

The appointment is subject to standard clearance and verification procedures.

Demana is currently a divisional executive at the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), a state-owned development finance institution, where he is responsible for a portfolio that covers mining, metals, infrastructure and energy.

Engineering career

Demana is a trained engineer and has more than 20 years of working experience, including in investment banking which should stand Sanral in good stead given its participation in the bond market. During this time, he played a leading role in numerous major transformational transactions in the sector. His expertise includes mergers and acquisitions, structuring of BEE deals, capital raising and general strategic corporate finance.

He was previously the CEO of a JSE Main Board-listed coal mining and trading company.

Demana began his professional working career as a mining engineering trainee with Anglo American Platinum and then as a mine health and safety inspector with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (formerly Department of Minerals and Energy). He holds a BSc. in Mining Engineering from Wits University and a MSc. in Mining Engineering from Exeter University in the United Kingdom.

Stabilising road agency finances

Sanral's board says that it believes that, given his educational qualifications, experience in senior strategic positions and the lead roles he has played in corporate finance in general, Demana will contribute towards the stabilisation of the roads’ agency finances (particularly the toll portfolio) and that he will continue to implement the company’s mandate to plan, build and maintain the national road network with the excellence associated with Sanral.

"The Board wishes to thank Lehlohonolo Memeza, the acting CEO, who has so diligently carried the baton since the departure of the former CEO in 2021. Her efforts to steer the ship on all levels and the support she has received from all her Sanral colleagues are highly appreciated. She has done us proud as our interim CEO and will continue in her current role until Demana assumes responsibility. As soon as formal communication is received from the Minister of Transport, the Board will finalise all processes relating to the appointment," says Themba Mhambi, Board chairperson.