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The Board of GS1 South Africa, trading as the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), has appointed Zinhle Tyikwe as Chief Executive Officer with effect from 01 July 2022. Tyikwe, who is currently the CGCSA Executive in charge of Human Resources and Communications, takes over from Gwarega Mangozhe, who is leaving at the end of June to pursue other interests.

The CGCSA is an industry association representing over 9 000 member companies in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector. The sector represented by the CGCSA contributes R1 trillion to the R5 trillion annual GDP (roughly 20% of economic production) and employs 2.5 million people which account for 16% of the country’s total formal labour force.

CGCSA’s role is mostly to advocate and lobby on behalf of its members with relevant government departments and structures such as local governments on policy and regulatory matters that affect our sector in particular, and the wider economy in general.

Tyikwe holds two honours degrees in Human Resources Development and Industrial Psychology and Organisational Development, all from UNISA, as well as an MBA from the University of South Wales. She has more than 20 years of human resources and strategic management experience. She has been with the CGCSA since 2013. She also currently serves on the boards of the Wholesale and Retail SETA and Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

Gareth Ackerman, co-chair of the CGCSA, says Tyikwe’s appointment will ensure continuity of the organisation’s mandate and activities and also further consolidate the success of the CGCSA in lobbying on regulatory, trade and policy matters affecting its members. “She will continue with the successful leadership that the CGCSA has enjoyed under the departing CEO, Gwarega Mangozhe, who has been instrumental in positioning the CGCSA as a voice of the FMCG sector in SA. We wish Gwarega all the best in his future endeavours,” says Ackerman.

Johann Vorster, also co-chair of the CGCSA, thanked Mangozhe for his strategic leadership of the organisation. “Importantly, Gwarega led a management team that has been able to establish and consolidate mutually beneficial relationships on behalf of our members with various stakeholders, among them government departments, sister business organisations, local authorities and regional bodies such as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Consumer Goods Forum, which represents over 400 of the  world’s largest consumer goods companies and retailers, and GS1 Global  which has member organisations in 116 countries focusing on product  barcode standards,” says Vorster.

Issued by Consumer Goods Council of South Africa