Less than a month before he was to take over the reins at Mercedes-Benz South Africa, chief executive-designate Abey Kgotle has resigned.
Kgotle walked away from one of the most prized director positions in the SA automotive sector, saying he was leaving for personal reasons.
He was previously MBSA’s executive director of human resources and corporate affairs.
His resignation was announced just 20 days before he was set to take over from the current chief executive, Andreas Brand.
Brand will now remain as CEO and executive director of manufacturing, roles he has held for nearly five years.
He was meant to move to Stuttgart, Germany, where he would have been the executive of the production network for complete knocked down units (CKD).
However, he will now continue to drive operations in East London.
Brand’s new position would have seen him overseeing seven of Mercedes-Benz AG’s global manufacturing operations, and he would have had continued strategic oversight of the East London manufacturing plant.
The Border-Kei Chamber of Business, of which MBSA is a platinum member, has raised concern over the sudden development.
The chamber’s chief executive, Lizelle Maurice, said that after Kgotle’s announcement it had reached out to the automotive giant “to see how we can help”.
Though the chamber was still awaiting a response from MBSA, Maurice said it was concerned about the situation.
“It’s very concerning for us that you have a CEO that’s been announced ... and then just before he’s supposed to take over, something happens. That isn’t good for confidence.
“Whatever internal matters they are dealing with, it’s probably an internal problem.
“We wish them well and we really hope that they can resolve whatever matters there are. We are here to support them as a chamber.”
Maurice said the chamber also supported the continuity that Brand remaining in the top job would provide.
“It’s probably good because when an old leader continues in this position, it’s always good for business continuity.”
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