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Changes to the board

Published: 2022-10-21 18:20:26 ET
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HUGE GROUP LIMITED
(Registration number 2006/023587/06)
Share code: HUG ISIN: ZAE000102042
(“Huge” or “the Company”)



CHANGES TO THE BOARD

In compliance with paragraph 3.59 of the JSE Listings Requirements, the board of directors (the
Board) of the Company hereby notifies shareholders that, with immediate effect:
•   Dr Duarte da Silva; Dr Craig Lyons, and Professor Brian Armstrong have tendered their
    resignations;
•   Mr Verakasrie Harris Theodore (Veran) Kathan is appointed as the independent non-executive
    Chairman;
•   Mr Michael Ronald Beamish is appointed as a non-executive director;
•   Mr Izak (Zak) Dirk Johannes van de Merwe is appointed as the Chief Commercial Officer and
    executive director.

Profile of Mr Verakasrie Harris Theodore (Veran) Kathan (56):

Veran is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He completed his articles with PWC in 1988.

Veran holds a B.Compt (Hons) from UNISA, and a Higher Diploma in Taxation from the University of
Johannesburg. He has also completed the Senior Management Development Programme at the
University of the Witwatersrand.

Veran is an established corporate executive and entrepreneur. He is currently a shareholder and
the managing director of The Specialists Franchise Group, which has been operating since 1978
and has more than 70 branches in Southern Africa who offer pest control, hygiene, and cleaning
services. He also currently serves as the Chairman of the Vodacom Group Pension Fund and a
member of its Investment Committee and as a member and the Chairman of the Vodacom
Group Provident Fund.

Previously, Veran held many senior ranking executive positions at Vodacom. During his 15 year
tenure at Vodacom, he served as its Managing Executive: Commercial Operations, as the Acting
CEO: Vodacom Business, as the CFO: Vodacom Business, and as the Managing Executive: Credit
& Risk. While at Vodacom, he also held various Board and Committee roles, including:
•       Vodacom Group Pension Fund – Chairman, member and Chaiman of the Investment
        Committee and the Audit Committee
•       Vodacom Group Provident Fund – Chairman and member of the Investment Committee
•       Nexio (formerly known as Storetech) – Chairman, member of the Remuneration Committee
        and the Audit Committee
•       XLink Communications – Chairman, member of the Remuneration Committee and the
        Audit Committee
•       Mezzanine – Chairman, member of the Remuneration Committee and the Audit
        Committee
•       Vodacom Business Africa – Chairman, member of the Remuneration Committee and the
        Audit Committee
•     Vodacom Business Africa Nigeria Ltd – Chairman, member of the Remuneration Committee
      and the Audit Committee
•     Africonnect Zambia Ltd – Chairman, member of the Remuneration Committee and the
      Audit Committee
•     Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited (UK) – Chairman, member of the
      Remuneration Committee and the Audit Committees
•     Vodacom UK Limited – Director
•     GS Telecom (Pty) Ltd – Director
•     VBA International Limited – Director
•     VBA Holdings Limited – Director
•     Number Portability Company – Director

Prior to Vodacom, Veran held various senior ranking executive roles at Nedbank, where he worked
for 7 years. During his tenure at Nedbank he held the positions of Head: Centralised Credit, General
Manager: Credit Assessment, and General Manager: Private Banking. He also represented
Nedbank as director for SA Fraud Prevention(SAFPS) and Servcon. He attended meetings of the
Nedbank Group Credit Committee (GCC), he was a member of the Basel II Steering Committee,
a member of Retail Credit Committee, a member of Retail Operating Committee, and a member
of the business exco.

Veran was also previously employed as the Divisional Financial Manager of Nampak.

Profile of Mr Michael (Mike) Ronald Beamish (54):

Mike is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Praesidium Capital Management, an
investment company that was founded in 2003. Mike has extensive experience in the investment
management industry, and he has a successful track record in the management of various hedge
funds, private equity, venture capital, derivative and listed equity investments. Over the years
Praesidium has become a proprietary investor that seeks to form long term partnerships with
outstanding entrepreneurs. Mike specializes in finding fast growing businesses that have global
scale. He represents the largest shareholding in Huge Group and, given the recent change by
Huge Group to become an Investment Holding Company, Mike has made himself available to
use his skills in this regard by service to the Board.

Prior to forming Praesidium, Mike worked for HSBC as the associate director for proprietary trading.

Mike holds a B.Com majoring economics, business information systems, and marketing.

Profile of Mr Izak Dirk Johannes van de Merwe

Zak holds a B.Com Marketing degree from the University of Johannesburg.
Zak is a telecoms & technology leader that has worked across multiple vertical market segments
and on projects in more than 20 geographic regions across the African continent. Up until very
recently he was the CEO and an Executive Director of Virgin Mobile South Africa, having been
approached by the Board in 2019 to step in and facilitate a business turn-around. He oversaw the
placement of the business into Business Rescue and after a 24-month process, joined the team of
Huge Management, a wholly owned subsidiary company of Huge as its Commercial and
Operations Director.

Zak has held numerous senior executive positions in the telecommunications sector, and he has
worked closely with many telecommunications, retail and financial services organisations in South
Africa and across the continent. Zak has participated in start-up business initiatives, and he has
significant experience in developing and successfully executing business strategies. Leading up
to his appointment at Huge Management, Zak has held various roles and served as an advisor to
various South African and African organisations particularly in expanding and positioning their
ownership of the telecommunications value chain to ensure a defensive competitive position and
long-term financial stability in the changing converged services landscape. His primary area of
expertise, apart from his mobile virtual network operator expertise, is advising large organizations
on business, technology, digital transformation, product, innovation and the diversification of
revenue and customer engagement strategies.

The Board wishes to extend its gratitude to Dr da Silva, Dr Lyons, and Professor Armstrong for their
valuable contribution to the Company during their tenures.

Johannesburg
21 October 2022

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