In line with international corporate governance practice the Board has also appointed Professor Juergen Schrempp as lead independent director. His role will include chairing the Board when matters pertaining to Sasol Oil (Pty) Limited are dealt with at the Sasol Limited Board. Mrs Nyasulu has a 1.275% indirect interest in Sasol Oil (Pty) Limited, a subsidiary of Sasol Limited.

 

Mr Cox said: "I would like to congratulate Hixonia on her appointment and wish her well in providing leadership at board level. She is a respected board member and it is a pleasure after 13 years on the Sasol Limited board to hand the baton to her. We are also grateful that Juergen has accepted his new role."

 

Mrs Nyasulu said: "It is an honour to accept this appointment as Chairman. I would like to thank Mr Cox for his outstanding contribution over 37 years to Sasol. The Company thrived under his leadership as chief executive and later as chairman. I am looking forward to serving this exciting company in a new capacity."

 

Pat Davies, the Chief Executive of the company said: "As management we are delighted to welcome Hixonia as chairman. We believe she will make an excellent contribution. We are grateful to Pieter for his leadership over many decades and wish him well in his retirement.

 

Hixonia Nyasulu

 

Mrs Nyasulu is the founder and Chairman of Ayavuna Women's Investments (Pty) Ltd, a women-controlled investment vehicle. Before founding Ayavuna in 2004, she managed T H Nyasulu & Associates, a marketing strategy and research company she started in 1984 after working for Unilever for six years.

 

She has served on the boards of several South African companies since 1992 including Saficon Motor Holdings, AVI Limited, McCarthy Retail Ltd, Glodina Ltd and Nedbank Ltd, where she became Deputy Chairman. Until recently, she was also on the board of Anglo Platinum. She is currently a director of Unilever PLC/NV and serves on the boards of Barloworld Ltd, Glenrand MIB and Tongaat-Hulett Group Ltd. She is also a director and co-owner of Paton Tupper Associates, a Durban-based design agency, as well as a member of the JP Morgan South Africa Advisory Board.

 

Born in 1954 in Randfontein, South Africa, Mrs Nyasulu attended the historic Inanda Seminary before proceeding to the University of Zululand where she obtained a BA in Social Work and an Honours Degree in Psychology. She also holds an Executive Leadership Development Programme Certificate from the Arthur D Little Management Education Institute (Massachusetts) and attended the International Programme for Board Members at the Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

 

Until recently she was a member of the Banking Enquiry Panel, appointed by the South African Competition Commission to investigate charges in the retail banking sector, access to the National Payment System and competition in the sector.

 

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