Management changes at FLSmidth South Africa

Sub-Saharan regional responsibilities and appointment as country head for Deon de Kock

FLSmidth have announced the appointment of Deon de Kock as the company’s new country head for South Africa.

With effect from 1 July 2016, Mr de Kock will take over as vice-president for Minerals, Sub-Sahara. In addition to assuming full regional responsibilities, he will also assume the role of country head for South Africa, taking over from Charl Drury, who will remain as country chief financial officer.

Mr de Kock’s professional experience includes more than 20 years in mining and construction, working with growing business volumes, increasing profitability and large-scale operational improvement initiatives.

FLSmidth say his vast expertise within the mining industry and specific experience in South Africa will be a great advantage when looking at the current challenges in the Sub-Saharan Africa market.

Mr de Kock comes directly from Sentula Mining Ltd, where he was head of engineering for Benicon Opencast Mining and immediately introduced a preventative maintenance culture and new business model for engineering. After only 10 months, he was appointed chief operating officer.

His prior experience includes 12 years with Sandvik Mining and Construction, where he held several senior positions, including general manager for operations in South Africa.

Operationally, Mr de Kock will report to the senior vice-president of global operations in the Minerals business, and in his country head role, he will report to the group country responsible (GCR) for South Africa.