Mazars appoints Michelle Olckers and Anoop Ninan as joint CEOs
Accounting and advisory firm Mazars South Africa has elected to split its Chief Executive Officer position into two, to be jointly occupied by Michelle Olckers and Anoop Ninan. The selection was made collectively by all the partners at the firm, after candidates for the job indicated their vision for Mazaars going forth.
Michelle Olckers is well and truly a veteran at Mazars South Africa, having joined the firm nearly 22 years ago after completing a B Comm in Accounting from the University of Cape Town. She joined the auditing division, and moved up the ranks to Audit Partner over the years.
Alongside managing the audit department at Mazars, Olckers has also been the Managing Partner at Mazars’ Cape Town office since late in 2010. Over the years, she has also served on the Mazars International Global Business Unit Board for Owner Manager Business, and continues to contribute to the global Mazars Group Governance Council.
Anoop Ninan also holds a degree in Accounting, from the University of Witwatersrand. He began his career at Big Four accounting and advisory firm PwC, and rose through the ranks to Assistant Manager by the end of his two-year spell at the firm. He then joined PwC’s Big Four rival EY, where he spent nearly six years.
Ninan ended his tenure at EY as an Associate Director, and immediately joined Mazars as a Partner at the Johannesburg Office. Since 2006, Ninan has been the Managing Partner of Mazars’ Gauteng office, alongside being a member of the National Mazars Board of Partners, and the National Executive Committee.
Both executives will now jointly occupy the position of CEO at the the expanding Mazars South Africa, replacing outgoing Hilton Saven, who is currently the Chairman at Mazars SA and has been with the firm for over four decades. Saven led the firm’s operations for the last 24 years, and will continue to contribute in the capacity of consultant.
Commenting on the appointments, a statement from Mazars read, “Olckers has considerable expertise in the areas of auditing as well as business consulting, with experience in the manufacturing, real estate, professional services and tourism sectors, having worked on both privately held businesses and large owner-managed companies.”
“Ninan, on the other hand, has advised on several initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, as well as being responsible for the development of new advisory services lines within Mazars over the past five years,” it added.
