Board of Directors

CONSTANTINE CHIKOSI | CHAIRMAN

Mr. Constantine Chikosi was appointed to Chairman of the Board, effective from the 10th of July 2023. He has been a valued member of the African Sun Limited Board since the 1st of May, 2021, and serving as the Chair of our Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. With over 25 years of experience in executive roles across emerging markets and a wealth of global relationships spanning both public and private sectors, his leadership skills and strategic acumen are well-recognized.

After earning his master’s degree in economics, Mr. Chikosi started his career at the Anglo-American mining group, before transitioning to the Commonwealth Secretariat’s London office in 1990. There, he qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant and took up the role of Chief Economics Officer. In 2000, Mr. Chikosi joined the World Bank, where he enjoyed a distinguished tenure of almost two decades, holding numerous leadership roles at the organization’s Washington D.C. headquarters and across various global offices. His final position was the Regional Director of Portfolio & Operations (Southeast Asia).

Currently, he also serves on the Board and the Risk Monitoring Committee of MCB Group, a leading financial institution listed on the local stock exchange in Mauritius; and as a Board Member of both Strand Hanson Ltd, a London-based merchant bank, and the Old Mutual Group. Mr Chikosi is a graduate of the INSEAD Business School at Fontienblue, France.

LAURIE WARD | ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Laurie joined the Company in April 2023 and has over 20 years of executive management experience both internationally and throughout Africa, primarily in hospitality and project management, including exposure to best-in-class hotel brands such as Four Seasons, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), and Singita.

Laurie is a Chartered Accountant (Zimbabwe), having served his articles with the Ernst and Young Mutare office. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Rhodes University in South Africa.

SIMON VILLAGE | NON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

With a career spanning over 35 years, Simon has served as a Managing Director at HSBC and Head of their African Research and Securities business. He was later appointed as Managing Director of the World Gold Council (WGC) Investment Services and was instrumental in the creation and development of the world’s first gold ETF, which changed the dynamics of the global gold market.

Simon founded Argentum Limited in 2016. With a focus predominantly on Eastern and Southern Africa, Argentum assists developing corporates, non-sector specific, in navigating to becoming institutionally compliant, thereby enabling expansion and growth. Simon is a holder of a B.Eng. (Hons) in Mining Engineering from the University of Exeter (Camborne School of Mines) and was a De Beers/Anglo-American scholar.
 

BRETT CHILDS | NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Brett was appointed to the African Sun Limited Board on the 16th of March 2017. A Chartered Accountant originally from Zimbabwe, Brett is a business veteran with 25 years of experience in capital raising, IPOs, managing investments, and corporate exits. Brett spent 15 years in London, where he helped to build a successful venture business, listed assets on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Helsinki Stock Exchange (HEX). He is a former Chief Executive Officer of the major shareholder, Brainworks Capital Management (Private) Limited having joined in June 2016 as a Non-Executive Director.

THANDI NGWENYA | NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Thandi Ngwenya has over 22 years of corporate experience spearheading Marketing and Business Development initiatives across Africa in financial services, information technology, hospitality, and media. She is a previous board member of TBWA Zimbabwe and a former Board Member for the Federation of Young Farmers in Zimbabwe. A Chevening scholar, Thandi holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Marketing from the National University of Science & Technology (NUST). She is also a Certified Trainer for IBDL (international Business Drivers Licence) and a member of the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) as a Marketing Fellow.

ALEX EDGAR SIYAVORA | NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Mr. Siyavora was appointed to the African Sun Board on 8 November 2021. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Mr. Siyavora has previously worked as the Finance Director and later the Managing Director for OK Zimbabwe Limited, a company with a network of 54 branches spread throughout Zimbabwe. He has also served as the Group Finance Director for Merspin/Merlin Group of Companies 

Mr. Siyavora is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe. He holds a Bachelors of Accounting Science (South Africa) and Masters in Business Leadership (South Africa).

GEORGINA CHIKOMO | NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Mrs. G. Chikomo was appointed to the African Sun Board on the 30^th of August 2018. Gina is an Accountant by training with a wealth of experience in prudent financial management. She is currently the Managing Director of ZB Bank Limited. She has a Master’s in Business Leadership, from the University of South Africa, a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Business Studies from the University of Zimbabwe, and is an ACCA fellow member.

Gina is also a Director at Qupa Micro Finance and is the current Chairman of ZB Sports Club.

LLOYD MATIVENGA MHISHI | NON- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lloyd Mhishi was appointed as the Lead Independent Director on the African Sun Limited’s board of directors with effect from the 1^st of August 2023. Lloyd was initially appointed to the Board on 1 May 2021 and has served as the Chairperson of the Company’s Human Resources and Remuneration Committee. Lloyd has a legal career stretching back to 1993, and is the Founder and current Senior Partner of the law firm – Mhishi Nkomo Legal Practice based in Harare. He is a Chambers Global ranked lawyer with extensive experience and knowledge of Conveyancing Law and Practice, Corporate and Commercial law, and Criminal and Civil litigation. He has presided over numerous arbitration disputes and is on the panel of the Cormmercial Arbitration Centre. Lloyd’s academic career spans more than 25 years lecturing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at various times in law schools of 3 local universities and writing and publishing the only book on Conveyancing in Zimbabwe. Lloyd has had several corporate leadership positions on various boards including FBC Building Society, Ecobank Zimbabwe limited, Dawn Properties Limited and Zimbabwe Cricket. Lloyd is a former President of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, current vice Chairman of the Estate Agents Council and served a full term as a Commissioner on the Judicial Service Commission. He is a holder of LLB (Hons), LLM and MBA (Finance) degrees.

VERNON WRIGHT LAPHAM | NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Mr. Lapham was appointed to the African Sun Board on 8 November 2021. He is a registered Public Accountant and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe, who received the W. A. Duff Award for the highest marks in Zimbabwe in the final qualifying exams of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr. Lapham also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Accounting (DAA).

Vernon has vast audit and business experience, having been previously been the Audit Partner at Ernst and Young and Chief Executive at MedTech Holdings Limited. He focuses on medium-sized privately owned businesses and currently operates Ultiam Advisory and Progility Consult. 

LEWIS CHIKARA | CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER

Lewis has over 16 years of experience in the hospitality industry at a senior management level in Finance. He has had experience with 3 unique 5-star hotels in Zimbabwe and South Africa which were all affiliated to the Leading Hotels of The World. Prior to this appointment, he was the Finance Director of Meikles Hospitality (Private) Limited and also doubled up as the Group Financial Controller of the Meikles Limited Group. Lewis also has vast experience with the retail sector, security services sector, and properties sector.

Lewis is a Chartered Accountant (Zimbabwe), having served his articles with the Deloitte & Touche Harare office. He holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science Honors Degree from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree from the University of Zimbabwe.