Former Absa CEO Maria Ramos headlines Richemont’s non-executive exodus as the Johann Rupert-controlled group refreshes its board.
Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods maker that owns Cartier, said on Friday four of its long-serving directors will step down from the board in the next 16 months.
These include Ramos, who chairs mining group AngloGold Ashanti. Ramos has been on the Richemont board since 2011. The group said she will step down from the role at the end of March 2025, after nearly 15 years on the board.
Other board members who will vacate their roles are Guillaume Pictet, Clay Brendish and Jean-Blaise Eckert. Picket and Eckert will leave at the end of March next year, while Brendish will leave at the same time as Ramos.
Rupert bid the outgoing directors farewell. “The series of changes we are announcing today will take effect over the coming 10 to 16 months. They reflect the ongoing execution of our succession plan for long-serving members. I would like to heartily thank Clay Brendish, Jean-Blaise Eckert, Guillaume Pictet and Maria Ramos for their strong contribution to Richemont over the years which I have always valued,” Rupert said.
Female board members will represent 33% of the new board. We will continue to address age, tenure, skills and geographic representation on the board.
“I know I can count on their continuous support during the transition period to ensure an orderly handover with their successors on the audit, compensation, governance & sustainability, nominations and strategic security committees of the board.”
Richemont also indicated that it will seek shareholder approval to temporarily increase the size of its board. “After the 2023 AGM and subject to shareholders’ approval, the board will temporarily increase to 18 members as we continue to execute on our succession plan for our long serving non-executive directors and ensure effective transmission of knowledge. Female board members will represent 33% of the new board. We will continue to address age, tenure, skills and geographic representation on the board.”
The group has nominated Fiona Druckenmiller as a non-executive director, with her appointment set to be rectified at the AGM scheduled for September.
“I would also like to warmly welcome Fiona to the board. She brings her financial acumen gained as an equity portfolio manager on Wall Street and also strong business acumen and jewellery expertise acquired through her venture, the FD Gallery,” Rupert said.
“Her relentless search for beauty and understanding of the American clientele, an increasingly important customer clientele for the group, combined with her empathy for social and environmental causes, will be of great value to Richemont.”
Ramos was appointed AngloGold Ashanti chair in 2020. She will have a busy few years after the mining house announced on Friday it will move its primary listing from the JSE to the New York Stock Exchange in search of deeper capital markets as the group seeks to close the valuation gap between it and its Northern American peers, mainly Canadian gold mining behemoths.
Ramos previously served as CEO of Absa for a decade until her departure in 2019. Before joining Absa in March 2009, she was the CEO of state-owned freight rail operator Transnet. She has also served on the boards of Remgro, SABMiller and Sanlam.
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