Mr  Jabu Moleketi  joined Brait Société Anonyme as a director and chairman of the board on September  7.  He  replaced Mervyn King, who has served as a director and chairman of Brait’s board for the past 11 years.

Mervyn King,  72, is chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, a former judge of the High Court, with a lengthy and distinguished curriculum vitae which includes chairing the United Nations Steering Committee to review governance within the UN, chairman of Strate and membership of the Securities Regulation Panel.

Brait CEO, Antony Ball, said Prof King had been an exemplary chairman and Brait was grateful for  the  enormous contribution he had made.

“I have greatly enjoyed my tenure as chairman of Brait’s board but in terms of our long term strategic and succession planning, the time has come for a new chairman of the board,” said Prof King. “I wish Mr Moleketi  and the Group all the very best.  I could not be handing over the reins to anyone who could add more value to the Group into the next decade than Mr Moleketi.  This is borne out by his past work experience.”

Jabu Moleketi, 52, has served his country since 1975, most recently as Deputy  Minister of Finance, a position he held from April 29, 2004 to September 23, 2008. He was chairman of the Public Investment Corporation and had an oversight role over the Financial Services Board.  In 1994, he was appointed MEC for Finance in the Gauteng Provincial Government. As Gauteng’s first finance MEC in the democratic era, he was responsible for developing and implementing a financial system for the province.

Mr Moleketi  left South Africa to join the ANC soon after matriculating from Musi High School in the politically charged Soweto of the 1970s. He returned to South Africa in 1991 following the unbanning of the ANC. He is married to Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, the former Minister for Public Service and Administration.

“Having worked in the public sector all my life, I look forward to this new challenge,” said Mr Moleketi. “The future of South Africa as a prosperous and forward-looking nation will be much enhanced by a creative  partnership between government and the private sector. As chairman of the board of Brait Société Anonyme, I believe I will be well positioned to add value to all our stakeholders.”

Mr  Ball said the Group was delighted to welcome Mr Moleketi. “As Deputy Finance Minister, he played an invaluable role in promoting South Africa abroad. He is well known to global financial institutions and brings with him a wealth of experience in the South African financial sector.”