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Nedbank: row brewing over Wyman

Cape Town – The appointment of SABMiller [JSE:SAB] chief financial officer Malcolm Wyman as a non-executive at banking giant Nedbank – an event that has hardly caused a stir in the local financial media – could turn controversial.

Nedbank [JSE:NED] shareholders get to vote on the appointment of Wyman, announced in late 2009, on Tuesday.

A key consideration is how effectively Wyman, SABMiller ’s chief financial officer since 2001, will be able to serve Nedbank while still working full time in a senior executive role for the brewing giant.

That is unless Wyman intends standing down from his CFO duties at SABMiller in the near future. SABMiller spokesperson Nigel Fairbrass declined to decline to speculate on Wyman’s career plans.

"But I’m not aware of any reason why his appointment at Nedbank should have any bearing on his role at SABMiller."

Reuel Khoza, chairperson of Nedbank Group, said Wyman was a highly experienced businessman and had added considerable insight and value to the Nedbank Group board since his appointment in August 2009.

"When he accepted the appointment, he was fully aware of the time commitment and he has fulfilled his responsibilities to the board and the audit and remuneration committees on which he serves."

Khoza pointed out that all appointments to the boards of listed banks in SA are also submitted to the banking regulator - which considers whether the director has the ability to contribute to board matters and also assesses time availability.

"It is our understanding that SABMiller, like other leading corporations, allow their executives to serve in a non-executive capacity on other company boards."

Shareholder activist Theo Botha, who will be questioning Wyman’s appointment at the Nedbank annual general meeting, points out that SABMiller is a sprawling global business which puts huge demands on a chief financial officer.

"Does Mr Wyman – who looks after operations in Africa, China, Europe and America – have enough time from his busy schedule to properly serve Nedbank?"

According to Nedbank’s annual report, Wyman will serve on its group audit committee and group remuneration committee.

The issue, Botha said, went beyond Nedbank and raised questions around the functionality of SABMiller’s executive, with CEO Graham McKay also serving on the boards of multinationals like Phillip Morris and Reckitt Benckiser.

"With the appointment of Wyman to Nedbank, does it not mean the two top executives at SABMiller are stretched quite thin in terms of their executive duties?

   - Fin24.com
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