North America change region Contact us News room e-Commerce Home|Sappi group|Leadership|Management Committee Management Committee* The Management Committee comprises of the following individuals: Stephen Robert Binnie (Steve)** (Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer) Age: 47 Qualifications: BCom, BAcc, CA(SA), MBA Skills, expertise and experience Steve was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Limited in July 2014. He joined Sappi in July 2012 as Chief Financial Officer designate and was appointed Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director from 01 September 2012. Prior to joining Sappi, he held various senior finance roles and was previously Chief Financial Officer of Edcon Proprietary Limited for 10 years after having been in a senior finance role at Investec Bank Limited for four years. Glen Thomas Pearce** (Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer) Age: 51 Qualifications: BCom, BCom (Hons), CA(SA) Skills, expertise and experience Glen joined Sappi Limited in June 1997 as Financial Manager and subsequently held various senior finance roles in South Africa and in Belgium before being promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Sappi Limited in July 2014. Prior to joining Sappi, he worked at Murray & Roberts Limited from 1992 to 1996. Mark Gardner** President and Chief Executive Officer of Sappi North America Age: 59 Qualifications: BSc (Industrial Technology) Skills, expertise and experience Mark was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Sappi North America (SNA) in 2007 and is responsible for leading all Sappi operations in the region. That same year, he was also appointed to the Sappi North America board. He joined Sappi in 1981 and his experience includes serving as the Vice President of Manufacturing and Vice President of Supply Chain, prior to which he worked in a variety of production management roles at Sappi, including Production Manager at the Westbrook Mill, Paper Mill Manager at the Somerset Mill, Managing Director at the Muskegon Mill and Director of Engineering and Manufacturing Technology at the regional head office in Boston. In 2009, Mr Gardner received the TAPP I (Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry)/PIMA (Paper Industry Management Association) Executive of the Year Award. The award is the highest recognition for leadership and management given by PIMA. He currently serves as Vice Chairman on the board of directors of the American Forest & Paper Association. In September 2012, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees for the University of Maine System. Alexander van Coller Thiel (Alex)** Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Southern Africa Age: 53 Qualifications: BSc Mechanical Engineering, MBA (Financial Management and IT) Skills, expertise and experience Alex joined Sappi in December 1989 as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Chairman in Johannesburg. In April 1993, as part of Sappi’s expansion into Europe, he moved to Brussels as the Administration Manager reporting to the Managing Director of Sappi Europe. With the creation of Sappi Europe he was appointed in February 1998 as Manager Marketing Intelligence, reporting to the Sales and Marketing Director. In January 2003, he became the Director Logistics, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Europe. He was appointed as Group Head Procurement, Sappi Limited in January 2008 and Integration Executive, in charge of the integration of the acquired M-real business into Sappi’s operations in September 2008. He led a project to redefine and implement Sappi’s ‘go-to-market’ strategy in Europe from October 2009. Mr Thiel was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Southern Africa with effect from 01 December 2010. Berend John Wiersum (Berry)** Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Europe Age: 59 Qualifications: MA (Medieval and Modern History) Skills, expertise and experience Berry joined Sappi in January 2007 as Chief Executive Officer Sappi Europe. Prior to joining Sappi, Mr Wiersum was a freelance mergers and acquisitions consultant for one year. He previously was Managing Director of Kappa Packaging and member of the management board in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) where he was responsible for overseeing over 90 packaging plants across Europe, Russia, the Middle East and North Africa. Mr Wiersum was Chairman of CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries) from 2011 – 2012. Gary Bowles** Executive Vice President of Sappi Specialised Cellulose Age: 54 Qualifications: BSc Electrical Eng, PMD, EDP Skills, expertise and experience Gary joined Saiccor Mill in 1990. He served in various positions at the mill until he was appointed as General Manager of Sappi Saiccor Mill in 2004. In January 2011, he was appointed as Managing Director of Sappi Specialised Cellulose and in July 2011, Mr Bowles joined the Group Management Team with responsibility for the increased need to coordinate the global marketing, sales and customer engagement responsibilities of our Specialised Cellulose business, while continuing to be responsible for dissolving wood pulp production in South Africa. In October 2013, he joined the Group Executive Committee as Executive Vice President Sappi Specialised Cellulose and joined the Sappi North American board releasing his manufacturing role at the Sappi Saiccor Mill. Andrea Rossi** Group Head Technology Age: 60 Qualifications: BSc Eng (Hons), C Eng, FCMI Skills, expertise and experience Andrea joined Sappi in 1989. Prior to becoming Group Head Technology, Mr Rossi held numerous roles in the company including Project Director Sappi Saiccor 'Amakhulu' Expansion Project, Sappi Kraft Manufacturing Director, Managing Director Sappi Forests, General Manager Enstra Mill, and Engineering Services Manager for Sappi Management Services. Maarten van Hoven** Group Head Strategy and Legal Age: 41 Qualifications: BProc, LLM (International Business Law) Skills, expertise and experience Maarten joined Sappi in December 2011. Mr van Hoven, an admitted attorney of the High Court in South Africa, has held various positions at the South African Competition Commission, most recently as Divisional Manager: Mergers & Acquisitions. As well as being on the Group Executive Committee he has joined the boards of Sappi Europe, Sappi North America and Sappi Southern Africa. Bradley Coward Group Chief Information Officer Age: 59 Qualifications: Grad Dip (Corporate Direction and Business Management), Cert (Senior Management and Leadership Development) Skills, expertise and experience Brad joined Sappi in 2008. Prior to joining Sappi he was Operations and Services Director at Derivco (Pty) Ltd. He has a keen interest in IT Governance and served on the IT Governance sub-committee of King III. André Frederich Oberholzer Group Head Corporate Affairs Age: 48 Qualifications: BCom (Law) Skills, expertise and experience André joined Sappi Limited in 2001 as the Group Head for Corporate Affairs. In this role he has global responsibility for Sappi’s internal, external, corporate and business communication and reputation management programmes. In addition, he has line responsibility for Sappi’s Southern African communication function. Prior to joining Sappi he worked for 14 years as a diplomat for South Africa, focused on multilateral affairs. Graeme Wild Group Head Sustainability and Investor Relations Age: 42 Qualifications: BSc (Forestry), MBA Skills, expertise and experience Graeme was appointed as Group Investor Relations Manager in February 2009, re-joining Sappi after two years with Deloitte Consulting. He added the responsibilities of Group Sustainability Manager in May 2011. He joined Sappi in 1995 and has held a variety of management positions on plantations and at strategic level. Graeme has a BSc Forestry from the University of Stellenbosch and an MBA (cum laude) from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Amanda Tregoning Group Company Secretary and Corporate Counsel Age: 47 Qualifications: BA LLB, LLM (Corporate Law) Skills, expertise and experience Amanda joined Sappi in November 2011 as legal counsel. Prior to her joining Sappi she was a Director in the international law firm Fasken Martineau, specialising in Corporate and Commercial Law. She provides secretarial services to the Sappi board and all board committees, as well as the Group Executive Committee. Louis Kruyshaar Group New Business Development Manager Age: 44 Qualifications: BTech (Pulp and Paper), BEng (Chemical Engineering), MBA, EDP Skills, expertise and experience Louis joined Enstra Mill in 1993 as a Sappi bursar, becoming a production superintendent. From 2001 until 2003 he was Technical Manager at Sappi Usutu Mill in Swaziland before moving to Ngodwana Mill as the Paper Mill Manager in 2004. In 2006, he became the Pulp Mill Manager at Ngodwana Mill before moving to Tugela Mill as the General Manager in 2008. Fergus Marupen** Group Head Human Resources Age: 50 Qualifications: BA (Hons), BEd (Education Management), MBA (Executive) Skills, expertise and experience Fergus joins us from Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) where he has been the Acting Chief Operating Officer for the past two years focusing on the day-to-day activities of the organisation, as well as its restructuring. Prior to that he was Group Executive Human Resources for ABSA where he oversaw the development and roll-out of HR strategies for ABSA’s South African and African operations. He has also held executive management positions with Kumba Iron Ore and BHP Billiton (Energy Coal business). * Ages of leadership on 31 December 2014 ** Group Executive Committee Print page Home Sappi group Group profile Leadership - Management Committee - Directors Code of Ethics Company history Sappi corporate video Investors Sappi Specialised Cellulose Sappi North America Products Sustainability Careers Sappi © 2015 All rights reserved Site map Legal notices and conditions