Home Eskom: Andre de Ruyter’s qualifications, controversies and criticisms

Eskom: Andre de Ruyter’s qualifications, controversies and criticisms

He’s caused a mixed reaction in political circles, and it’s an appointment that has divided South Africans. Nampak’s chief Andre de Ruyter was officially made Eskom CEO on Monday night, and he will begin the arduous task of turning around the firm’s fortunes from January 2020.

He replaces Jabu Mabuza, whose time as acting CEO came to an end last month. ADR is the first permanent CEO of the company since June, and he’s got a mountain of work ahead. But why is his appointment so contentious? We’ve looked into de Ruyter’s background to establish a clearer picture on the matter:

Andre de Ruyter: New Eskom CEO’s qualifications

He has three university degrees to his name, including an MBA. De Ruyter has studied in South Africa, but completed his business honours in the Netherlands.

  • University of South Africa: Bachelor’s Degree
  • University of Pretoria: Bachelor’s Degree
  • Universiteit Nyenrode Netherlands Business School: MBA honours

He spent more than 20 years with Sasol in senior management roles, working in their energy and chemicals industries. His portfolio included overseeing work in the US, Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique, Germany and China. Now he’s been offered the most daunting job of them all – manning the controls at Eskom.

What does an Eskom CEO actually earn?

In the last five years, he served as Nampak’s CEO. The company are known as the biggest packaging company in Africa. It’s estimated he was on an annual salary of R18 million. Interestingly, former Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe was on a yearly wage of R8.6 million. De Ruyter is likely to take a pay cut for this role.

Criticism of Andre de Ruyter

In their scathing critique of the new appointment, the EFF were quick to highlight de Ruyter’s history at Nampak. They claim that his leadership saw the share price plunge since 2014 and a number of financial irregularities were reported under his watchful eye.

“The EFF rejects the appointment of de Ruyter and we call on all stakeholders to do the same. His performance at Nampak was not exceptional, and was marred by an abnormal loss of revenue. It’s an irrational, shameful and racist appointment.

EFF statement

The figures for Nampak’s share prices speak for themselves:

A controversial topic or two to address

Although de Ruyter’s supporters have blamed the legacy of the previous regime, the fact he couldn’t lead a turnaround in their market value will likely be used as a stick to beat him with. The new CEO may also have a conflict of interest he’ll need to elaborate on.

Of course, you’ll get conspiracy theorists emerging with their hot-takes every time a big appointment like this happens. But some South Africans feel the appointment is flawed for other reasons. Transformation aside, de Ruyter has never worked for Eskom before. Nor has he fulfilled a role at a state branch of government.

He could be flying in blind on this one, despite his vast business experience. Eskom is an animal like no other, and with the panel appointing an outsider, their desire for a fresh start may trip them up before the race is run.



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