Earth-moving equipment supplier Bell said on Monday that its CEO Leon Goosen has resigned after five years in the top job to pursue other interests
Goosen joined the board of the family business 14 years ago before moving up the ranks to be chief operations officer from 2014 and then CEO in 2018.
The company said a process to appoint a new CEO will be initiated in due course.
“Goosen’s appointment to CEO was supposed to bring new transparency to Bell, but the company under his tenure became more opaque than ever,” said Carson Mitchell, managing member of Shipyard Capital Management, which has shares in the company.
“What returns on capital does the company deserve to earn, and what should happen to working capital levels as more production is moved to Germany? Will Bell remain independent or sell itself to a global excavator manufacturer? These are questions that went unanswered during Goosen’s tenure, and shareholders will have to hope that new management can answer them.”
Like many businesses, Bell was caught up in the pandemic, triggering a slide in its share price before it recovered.
Bell’s share price was 1.70% weaker at R14.50 at close of trade on the JSE on Monday, valuing the company at R1.4bn. At the height of the pandemic, the share price went as low as R4.88.
Goosen will stay on until December, Bell said in a statement.
“Leon has played a pivotal role in driving the success of the group, and the board wishes him well in his future endeavours,” said Bell chair Gary Bell.
His resignation comes days after the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) signed an agreement with the company to convert 100 contract workers into permanent employees after they threatened to strike and shut down the group’s Richards Bay plant and its Boksburg head office.
Bell employs more than 3,500 people and owns a manufacturing plant in Richards Bay that boasts a capacity of 5,000 machines a year and supplies Africa and Asia with trucks, hauliers, loaders, tractors, backhoes and custom-made equipment.
The manufacturer and distributor of heavy-duty equipment and articulated vehicles has 20 branches countrywide.
With Michelle Gumede
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