Directorate

Graham Dunford (58)

NDip : Mechanical Engineering

Chief executive and executive committee chairman

Graham joined Hudaco in 2001 when it purchased Bauer Geared Motors, where he was the managing director. He became CEO: Electrical power transmission in 2005, CEO: Power transmission in 2009 and CEO: Bearings and power transmission in 2010.

He joined the board in 2009 as an alternate director and became a full board member in 2010.

He was appointed group chief executive in 2014.

Clifford Amoils (61)

BCom BAcc (cum laude) CA (SA)

Group financial director and member of the executive committee

Clifford was a partner at Grant Thornton (which has since merged into BDO) for 21 years and headed its audit division. He was a member of its National Council and served on Grant Thornton International’s audit advisory committee. He was a member of the Financial Reporting Investigation Panel of the JSE from 2008 to 2018.

He joined the board in 2009.

Ernie Smith (52)

BTech: Industrial Engineering

Executive director and member of the executive committee and the social and ethics committee

Ernie joined Hudaco as a portfolio executive in 2018. He has extensive commercial and operations management experience in the engineering field, having started his career at Anglo American as an industrial engineer, served as operations director for Whirlpool Appliances, vice president at Schneider Electric (both in Europe and South Africa) and divisional managing director at Aveng.

He joined the board in 2023 as an alternate director and became a full board member in February 2024.

Stephen Connelly (71)

ACMA 

Non-executive chairman of the board and the nomination committee and member of the remuneration committee 

Stephen immigrated to South Africa in 1976. In 1982 he was a founding partner of Valard Limited and was appointed managing director in 1987. Valard was acquired by Hudaco in 1992. That year Stephen was appointed Hudaco’s chief executive and served in that capacity for 22 years until his retirement in 2014. He continued to serve on the board in a non-executive capacity for a cooling off period and was appointed chairman in April 2018. He is also independent non-executive chairman of Sturrock & Robson, a privately owned international group of engineering businesses with its head office in Europe. 

Stephen joined the board in 1992.

Nonyameko “Nyami” Mandindi (56)

BSc (Quantity Surveying), Executive Masters in Positive Leadership and Strategy

Independent non-executive director, chairman of the social and ethics committee and member of the audit and risk management committee and of the nomination committee

Nyami started her career as one of the first black female quantity surveyors in South Africa. As one of the founding partners of a QS firm in the 1990s, she contributed to the growth of the firm to one of the top five quantity surveying businesses in SA. She has vast operational experience having served as CEO of Intersite and Project Manager for the Rea Vaya BRT system for the City of Johannesburg. She served as CEO and business line director of Southern & East Africa of Royal Haskoning DHV, where she was part of the global leadership team, leading the Africa Growth Strategy. She was also the chairman of Group Five and a member of the board of Hyprop Investments.

Nyami serves on the boards of Exemplar REITail Limited and Kusile Africa Development.

Nyami joined the board in 2015.

Mark Thompson (70)

BCom, BAcc, CA (SA),LLB

Lead independent non-executive director, chairman of the remuneration committee, member of the audit and risk committee and of the nomination committee

Mark served, inter alia, as chief financial officer of Sappi and group treasurer of Anglo American and was a member of the Rand Merchant Bank audit committee and its corporate and investment banking credit committee and a member of the board and chairman of the audit, risk and compliance committee of First Rand Insurance Services Company.

He currently holds non-executive positions with Sasfin Bank and Sasfin Holdings (member of the board, audit committee, group risk and capital management committee as well as chairman of the credit and large exposures committee), PPC (member of the board, investment and strategy committee and chairman of the audit, risk and compliance committee), Rockwood Private Equity (member of its advisory board and member of the board of one of its major unlisted investments and chairman of both its audit and remuneration committees) and Sappi Limited Pension Fund (chairman of the audit committee).

Mark joined the board in 2017.

Bukelwa Bulo

BBusSci Hons, CA(SA), PLD(Harvard)

Independent non-executive director, chairman of the audit and risk management committee and member of the remuneration committee and the social and ethics committee

Bukelwa has over 16 years’ experience in private equity with exposure to a wide spectrum of sectors, including industrial services and retail. She has expertise in investment and divestment evaluation, deal structuring, and strategic and stakeholder management. She is a cofounder of Jade Capital Partners, an investment holding company focused primarily on the property, industrial, construction and building materials sectors.

Bukelwa serves on the boards of Capital Appreciation Limited, Netcare Limited and Sephaku Holdings Limited.

She joined the board in 2023..