André was appointed to the Board on 1 October 2014 and elected as chairman of the Board on 28 April 2015. André joined Bokomo Breakfast Cereals in 1988 as a financial manager. He was later appointed as operational executive and in 1994, he was appointed as chief executive officer of Bokomo. After the merger between Sasko and Bokomo, André served as the executive responsible for Sasko Milling and Baking, after which he was appointed as chief executive officer of Pioneer Foods in 1999. André retired as chief executive officer of Pioneer Foods in March 2013.
Geoffrey George Fortuin (56)
BCom (Acc), BCom (Acc) (Hons), CA(SA)
Lead independent director
Geoff was appointed to the board on 28 April 2015. Geoff is the financial director of Brimstone Investment Corporation Ltd. He was previously a partner at Deloitte & Touche for 15 years up to 2014, during which time he was responsible for the audit of a number of South African-listed companies. He was also a member of the Deloitte South Africa board of directors.
Tanya Justine Annalene Golden (50)
LLB, LLM (UCT), LLM (AU, USA)
Independent non-executive director
Tanya was appointed to the Board on 10 December 2018. Tanya is a senior counsel and has been a member of the Cape Bar for more than twenty years. She has served as Chairperson of the Cape Bar Council and is presently the Chairperson of the Cape Bar Transformation Committee and the National Transformation Chairperson for the General Council of the Bar. Tanya served as a member of the Financial Services Board Enforcement Tribunal and was previously appointed by the MEC of Health, to serve on one of the Department’s Hospital board’s and as chairperson for three years.
Larry Wilson Riddle (64)
BCom, BAccSc(Hons), CA(SA)
Independent non-executive director
Larry was appointed to the Board on 28 September 2020. Larry previously held the positions of Commercial Director and Group Corporate & External Affairs Director of Illovo Sugar Africa (Pty) Ltd (“Illovo”) for seven years and three years respectively. He held a number of senior management positions within Illovo including General Manager of the Illovo South African Operations prior to his appointment as a director. Larry also played a key role in looking after the Illovo Joint Ventures and Associate companies in the Illovo group, including Gledhow Sugar Company, Glendale Distilling Company, Lacsa (Pty) Ltd and Relax Ltd. He was also chairman of a number of the Illovo retirement funds. He is a past chairman of the South African Sugar Millers’ Association and the Ethanol Producers’ Association of South Africa. Larry is currently an independent non-executive director of Gledhow Sugar Company (Pty) Ltd and Crookes Brothers Limited.
Gary Vaughan-Smith (60)
B.Sc. (Hons) Mathematical Statistics, M.Phil. Finance, Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries
Non-executive director
Gary was appointed to the Board on 19 February 2021. Gary is the founding partner and CEO of Silverstreet Capital LL.P London, UK, an asset management business focused on investing in the African agricultural sector. He has extensive experience in the African agricultural sector in Eastern and Southern Africa, including poultry, beef, processing, storage, seed and primary production. He has overseen investments of over R6bn into the African agricultural sector, many of which have been greenfield developments. Between 2001 and 2006, Gary was Head of the Alternative Investment Group at ABN AMRO Asset Management, based in London, and between 1990 and 2001, he was at Gartmore Investments Ltd, initially heading the Quantitative Investment team and then Head of Gartmore’s Global Portfolio Team, also in London. Gary has broad experience in sourcing funding for projects and new investments. He has overseen the establishment of high ethical, environmental, social and governance standards in the companies that the Silverlands Funds have invested in.
Adel Deidré van der Merwe (52)
BCom Management Accounting
Chief Executive Officer
Adel has been with Quantum Foods since 2008. Adel started out in the corporate finance department of Pioneer Foods in 1995 and moved to central procurement where she spent the bulk of her time involved in raw materials and commodities procurement. In 2008, she joined Nova Feeds while it was still a division of Pioneer Foods. She joined the Eggs business during 2016. She has more than 15 years’ experience in the animal feeds and food industry.
André Hugo Muller (53)
CA(SA)
Chief Financial Officer
André was appointed to the Board on 27 January 2014. André joined Quantum Foods in 2003, while it was still a division of Pioneer Foods. He started at Nulaid as financial manager and was later appointed as the farming operations manager for Nulaid, a position he held for four years. André spent a year as national sales and marketing manager for Tydstroom before being appointed as head of finance for Quantum Foods in 2012.
ZIYANDA PATIENCE WAKASHE (38)
LLB
Company Secretary and legal advisor
Ziyanda joined Quantum Foods in September 2022, from Sea Harvest Group Limited, where she served as the Legal and Compliance Officer, and Assistant to the Group Company Secretary. Having completed her articles in the civil and commercial litigation department at Schneider Galloon Reef & Co Attorneys, she was admitted as an attorney of the High Court in 2020.