Printing and manufacturing group Novus Holdings announced on Wednesday that its CEO will retire later in 2023, along with other board changes.
Neil Birch, who joined the group in 2017 as non-executive chair and took over in May 2018, will retire as CEO and executive director of the group later this year.
The company did not provide a date, but lauded him in the announcement for executing his “promised strategy, specifically playing a pivotal role in the restructuring of the company to be fit for purpose”.
“Neil has also been central in the negotiation, closing and integration planning of the recent acquisition of the Pearson SA business,” the company said, adding that he had “committed to continue to oversee the integration process to the extent required”.
The company, valued at R1.35bn on the JSE, moved to acquire a majority stake in Pearson SA, a courseware business that serves all tiers of the education market in August.
Pearson SA also provides digital and supplementary resources for teachers and learners. Novus said at the time that Pearson SA’s courseware business aligns with its core print activities and would benefit from Novus’s distribution, publishing and production network.
Novus has a sophisticated and comprehensive sales and distribution network across SA and leverages its long-term relationships with education departments, content owners and developers to provide high-quality learning materials to students.
Meanwhile, board chair and independent non-executive director Phumla Mnganga will step down at the end of March.
She took on the role in April 2019, but has been reviewing her listed board portfolio “for some time” as she seeks to “balance her commitments”, according to Novus.
Noluvuyo Mkhondo, non-executive director, will also step down at the end of March, which is the end of Novus’s financial year.
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