the questionWhat do company records and aggregator listings show about the tenures and outside roles of former Naspers directors and officers?
1Directors of the 2004 board still listed in 2015
analysisNaspers's 2004 annual report describes the outside roles its directors held at the time. It states that Fred Phaswana joined the Naspers group in 2003 and describes him as chairman of BP Southern Africa (Pty) Limited, regional president (Africa) of BP plc and a director of Anglo American; chairman of the South African National Energy Association, of the Cape Town Graduate School of Business Board of Advisors and of the South African Institute of International Affairs; vice-chairman of the World Wide Fund for Nature in South Africa and of the South Africa Foundation; and honorary president of the Cape Town Press Club. Ben van der Ross, who according to the report joined the Naspers group in 1999, is described as chairman of Bonatla Property Holdings, a member of the boards of Momentum, FirstRand and Pick 'n Pay Stores Limited, the former chief executive of Business South Africa, chairman of Naspers's Welkom share scheme and a member of the Naspers budget committee. Advocate Francine-Ann du Plessis, who joined the Naspers group in 2003, is described as a director of Loubser du Plessis Inc, a firm of chartered accountants in Stellenbosch, of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa, the KWV group, Sanlam and Findevco, and as a member of the Naspers audit and risk management committee. 1
analysisThe same report gives 12 February 1999 as the date Ben van der Ross (B J van der Ross) was first appointed to the board and classifies him as an independent non-executive director, and gives 23 October 2003 as the date Fred Phaswana (F T M Phaswana) and Francine-Ann (Fran) du Plessis were appointed to the board as independent non-executive directors. The April 2015 news report on the board composition names all three as directors, and Phaswana as the board's lead independent director. Their end dates are given only by a market-data aggregator, whose start dates for their independent directorships each differ by one day from the company record: it lists "Tshamano Phaswana" as a former Naspers director and independent director from 22 October 2003 to 31 March 2020, van der Ross as a former Naspers director and independent director from 11 February 1999 to 31 March 2022, and du Plessis as a former Naspers independent director from 22 October 2003 and director from 29 August 2013, both until 28 May 2015. 2 1 3
sources in this section
- Naspers Limited Form 6-K for October 2004 (annual report for the year ended 31 March 2004) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Oct 2004
- Other source · src-055 identified by category only · Other
- Media source · src-148 identified by category only · Media
2Later directors: Don Eriksson, Nolo Letele and Roberto Oliveira de Lima
analysisNaspers's annual financial statements for the year to 31 March 2014 list D G Eriksson among the non-executive directors and record his appointment as effective 16 October 2013, and a news report of 22 April 2015 names Don Eriksson among the members of the Naspers board. A market-data aggregator lists Don (Donald Gordon) Eriksson as a former Naspers director and independent director from 15 October 2013, one day before the company's date, to 31 March 2021; the end date is given only by the aggregator, and no company record of his departure is in the retained material. The aggregator's profile lists his current positions as chairman of Insurance Outsourcing Managers Holdings Ltd., Oakleaf Insurance Co. Ltd., Renasa Insurance Co. Ltd., Summerfield Park Retirement Village and NMS Insurance Services South Africa Ltd. It lists former positions as independent non-executive director of Naspers Ltd. from 2013 to 2021 and of Prosus NV from 2019 to 2021, director of MultiChoice South Africa Holdings Pty Ltd., independent non-executive director of MultiChoice Group Ltd. from 2018 to 2020, executive director of Commercial Union Life Assurance Co Ltd and of CGU Insurance Ltd. (South Africa), director of Sentrasure Ltd, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Inc., member of the Institute of Directors and trustee of the Discovery Health Medical Scheme. Apart from his Naspers directorship, these positions are not confirmed by a company record in the retained material; no company record of the Prosus, MultiChoice or insurance-company positions was found. 1 2 3 4
analysisNolo Letele (Francis Lehlohonolo Napo Letele) is listed in the February 2023 Schedule 13D amendment as chair of MultiChoice and a non-executive director of Prosus N.V. and Naspers Limited, and the administration page of Naspers's 2024 summary of the integrated annual report lists FLN Letele among its directors; the April 2015 news report on the board composition also names him as a director. He is not among the directors listed in Naspers's FY2026 summary consolidated financial statements. The dates of his Naspers directorship are given only by a market-data aggregator, which lists him among former Naspers directors from 21 November 2013 to 30 March 2025. 5 6 1 7 2
analysisNaspers's leadership page states that Roberto Oliveira de Lima developed his career in information technology and finance at Accor S.A., Rhone Poulenc S.A. and Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A.; was chair and chief executive officer of Credicard Group, chief executive officer of Vivo S.A., chair of Publicis Brazil and president of Natura S.A.; was previously a board member of Edenred S.A., Pão de Açúcar S.A. (Casino) and Natura; and is a member of the board of RNI Negócios Imobiliários S.A. It states that in April 2019 he left the board of Telefônica Brasil S.A. after 14 years with that company, six of them as president and chief executive officer and eight as a board member. A market-data aggregator's profile lists his active positions, without start dates, as chairman of RNI Negócios Imobiliários S.A.; director of Rodobens SA, Fundacao Mata Atlantica, Lide Grupo De Líderes Empresariais and MIH Holdings Pty Ltd., which it describes as a holding company offering interactive internet, television and print media services through its subsidiaries; and corporate officer of the Confederação Nacional do Comércio de Bens. Naspers's 2004 annual report names MIH Holdings among the companies of the wider Naspers group. Apart from the RNI board seat, these positions are not confirmed by a company record in the retained material: the leadership page describes him as a member, not the chair, of the RNI board and does not mention the Rodobens, Fundação Mata Atlântica, Lide, Confederação Nacional do Comércio or MIH Holdings positions. Naspers's FY2026 summary consolidated financial statements state that he would retire as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 July 2026; no record of the end of the MIH Holdings directorship listed by the aggregator was found. 8 9 10 7
sources in this section
- Other source · src-055 identified by category only · Other
- Media source · src-148 identified by category only · Media
- Company statement source · src-052 identified by category only · Company statement
- Other source · src-166 identified by category only · Other
- Schedule 13D Amendment No. 1 on Trip.com Group Limited filed by Prosus N.V., Naspers Limited and subsidiaries (event date 10 February 2023) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Feb 2023
- Company statement source · src-054 identified by category only · Company statement
- Company statement source · src-006 identified by category only · Company statement
- Company statement source · src-003 identified by category only · Company statement
- Other source · src-092 identified by category only · Other
- Naspers Limited Form 6-K for October 2004 (annual report for the year ended 31 March 2004) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Oct 2004
3A former officer listed by an aggregator: PayU's chief executive
analysisIn a Schedule 13G on Remitly Global, Inc. filed with the SEC and dated 10 February 2022 (event date 31 December 2021), PayU Fintech Investments B.V. reported shared voting and dispositive power over 37,341,745 shares of Remitly common stock (22.8% of the class), held indirectly by Prosus and Naspers. The filing states that Laurent Le Moal, a member of the board of directors of Remitly, is the chief executive officer of PayU (the filing's defined term for PayU Fintech Investments B.V.) but has no voting or dispositive control over the shares held by PayU. Naspers's 2024 summary of the integrated annual report describes Remitly as PayU's largest associate, and a market-data aggregator lists Le Moal among former Naspers officers as a corporate officer from 31 December 2015, without an end date. 1 2 3
sources in this section
- Schedule 13G on Remitly Global, Inc. filed by PayU Fintech Investments B.V., Prosus N.V. and Naspers Limited U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · Feb 2022
- Company statement source · src-054 identified by category only · Company statement
- Other source · src-055 identified by category only · Other
timeline · 1999–2022
- Ben van der Ross first appointed to the Naspers board
- Schedule 13G on Remitly naming PayU's chief executive as a member of the Remitly board