Clifford Elphick, Chairman

Clifford joined Anglo American Corporation in 1986 and was seconded to E. Oppenheimer and Son as Harry Oppenheimer’s personal assistant in 1988. In 1990, he was appointed Managing Director of E. Oppenheimer and Son, a position he held until leaving in December 2004. During that time, Clifford was also a Director of Central Holdings, Anglo American and DB Investments. Following the privatisation of De Beers in 2000, Clifford served on the De Beers Executive Committee. Clifford formed Gem Diamonds in July 2005. Clifford is also the Non-executive Chairman of Zanaga Iron Ore Co. Limited.

Brandon de Bruin, Non-Executive Director

Brandon de Bruin joined Gem Diamonds from Clifford Chance LLP, one of the world’s leading international law firms. Practicing in New York and London, he specialised in Debt and Equity Capital Markets and Corporate Finance. Brandon gained extensive commercial and legal experience in international corporate and finance transactions working for clients such as Citigroup, UBS, JPMorgan, ABN Amro and Bank of America. He also gained valuable experience in stock exchange listings in London, Luxembourg and New York. At Gem Diamonds, Brandon has led numerous corporate and financial transactions and managed the Group’s Sales, Marketing and Manufacturing division. In 2017, Brandon headed up the Group’s Business Transformation program as the Chief Business Transformation Officer and recently, following his appointment in 2019 as the Group Operations and Business Transformation Executive, he has been appointed as the Group’s Chief Operating Officer.  He was appointed to Letšeng Diamonds Board of Directors in February 2014. Brandon has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Economics and Business Economics) and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He is a qualified attorney in South Africa and a solicitor in England and Wales.

Jaco Houman, Non-Executive Director

Jaco has a Bachelor’s Degree in Extractive Metallurgy from the University of Pretoria and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Witwatersrand. He is a registered professional engineer. His technical and managerial career spans more than 23 years. He has a diverse background in areas of operational excellence, design, production, technical support, SHEQ and consulting. Key activities that he has been involved in include the development and implementation of a turnaround plan, performance improvement initiatives, cost reduction measures, volume expansion at an operation, project, and group level. He has led and assisted in the development of technical strategies, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, design, commissioning and technical evaluation reviews. He led the safety, occupational hygiene and environmental departments at a large corporate for more than 2 years. He has spent some time in business improvement and applied financial modelling skills to enhance operational delivery through the optimisation of the value chain to maximise value for the business. He joined the Letšeng Board in October 2018.

Michael Michael, Non-Executive Director

Michael has over 20 years’ experience in financial management. He joined RSM Betty & Dickson (Audit Firm) in Johannesburg South Africa in January 1993 as a trainee accountant and moved up the ranks to become audit partner at the firm in March 2000. In August 2006 to February 2007 Michael was seconded to Gem Diamonds Limited to assist with the financial aspects of the Main London Listing including the financial reporting, management accounting and tax relating to the Initial Public Offering. In March 2008 Michael joined Gem Diamonds on a full time basis as the Group Financial Manager. On 2 April 2013 he was promoted to the position of Chief Financial Officer and joined Gem Diamonds’ Board on 22 April 2013. He was also appointed to the Letšeng Board on 23 May 2013.

Glenn Turner, Non-Executive Director

Glenn was called to the Johannesburg Bar in 1987 where he spent 14 years practising as an advocate specialising in general commercial and competition law, and took silk in 2002. Glenn was appointed De Beers’ first General Counsel in 2002 and was also a member of the Executive Committee. Glenn was responsible for a number of key initiatives during his tenure, including overseeing De Beers’ re-entry into the USA. Glenn joined Gem Diamonds in May 2006 and was appointed to the Board in April 2008.

Lebohang Moreke, Non-Executive Director

Lebohang holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Educational Psychology, Leadership and Management from the National University of Lesotho. He has worked in various sectors in Lesotho. He served as the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service (where he introduced the biometric system for Lesotho’s public service, enhanced the performance management system and implemented the Public Servants Housing Scheme and Projects), as chairperson in the Public Servants and Statutory Position Holders Pension Fund Board, as chairperson of the Government Housing Committee and as chairperson of the Human Resource Cadre, which made up of Human Resources Directors and Managers from across the public service. Lebohang further served as the Principal of Bereng High School in Mafeteng, where he improved the school’s academic performance, diversified the curricula and sporting the codes. This attracted better-performing students and hardworking staff to join the school. He is currently the Executive Secretary of the Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA) Men’s Guild (known as Mokhatlo oa Banna le Bahlankana-MBB). Lebohang is a highly motivated, innovative, reliable, industrious and self-driven professional with many years of selfless community-centered service. He possesses leadership, interpersonal communication and problem-solving skills. He is results-oriented and an excellent change manager. He was appointed to the Board of Letšeng in January 2021.

Sentle Rabale, Non-Executive Director

Sentle holds a Diploma in Forestry from the Lesotho Agricultural College. He also pursued Advanced Diploma in Project Management from the Institute of Development Management. He further received training in Hydroponics, Permaculture systems, Management of natural resources for energy and environment, Biomass resources, Biomass energy conversion technology and participatory rural appraisal. Sentle served as an ICM Expert at the Ministry of Water (Department of Water Affairs). His other experience includes working at the Lesotho Durham Link as Project Manager, at the then Ministry of Interior as District Conservation Officer and at Plenty Lesotho as the Head of Forestry Program. Some commendable achievements under Sentle’s belt include nurturing 56 horticultural entrepreneurs in the Quthing and Mohale’s Hoek districts, implementing environmental protection and biodiversity conservation programmes in the southern parts of Lesotho from 1994 to 2002 and pioneering the microchip project in Lesotho under the justice development sector as a response to stock theft in Lesotho. He further implemented a successful hospitality and environmental assessment project for the Ministry of Tourism in the Mohale Dam catchment area. For nearly 30 years, Sentle has contributed immensely to community projects, working on environmental protection, income generation, horticultural activities and wetlands protection. Upon retirement in 2002, he established a consultancy company dealing with landscaping, environmental impact assessment and project appraisal. He was appointed to the board of Letšeng in January 2021.

‘Mathabo Tsepa (Ph.D.), Non-Executive Director

‘Mathabo holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from the University of British Columbia in Canada and a BSc in Education from the National University of Lesotho. She was Lesotho’s High Commissioner to Canada from 2010 to 2016, where she concurrently served as Lesotho’s Ambassador to Cuba and as High Commissioner to Barbados, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Dr. Tsepa has also taught at the University of British Columbia in Canada, at the National University of Lesotho and at various secondary schools. In 2010, she established a private preschool, ‘Mathabo Academy for Young Leaders in her home district of Qacha’s Nek. She is a businesswoman in the agriculture industry. She is highly experienced in diplomacy, international relations, negotiations, management, teaching, research, curriculum and project development.  She was appointed to the board of Letšeng in January 2021.

Kelebone Leisanyane, Executive Director

Kelebone holds a Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship from the Management College of Southern Africa and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering (Hons) from the National University of Ireland. Kelebone is a seasoned business executive with 34 years of professional experience; having worked as Production Engineer, Operations Manager, Technical Manager and Senior Production Manager at Lesotho Flour Mills, as Managing Director for Loti Brick (Pty) Ltd and more recently as Chief Executive Officer for Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC). He has also served in other capacities as a board member for Econet Telecom Lesotho, Lesotho Flour Mills, Standard Lesotho Bank, Lesotho Revenue Authority and Machabeng College. He was also a member of the National University of Lesotho Council during which time he served as Chairman of the Audit Committee. Kelebone brings to Letšeng exceptional leadership skills and a strong business acumen that will influence the Company’s bottom-line. He joined Letšeng in February 2018.

Likentšo Jankie, Company Secretary

Likentšo is a Lawyer and a Compliance Practitioner (CPrac(SA)), employed as the Company Secretary at Letšeng, responsible for Legal and Governance functions. She worked in the banking industry, serving in the legal, governance and compliance fields, before moving to the mining industry. Likentšo’s academic qualifications include Certificate in Business Risk Management from the University of Cape Town, Management Development Programme from Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) of the University of Pretoria, a Postgraduate Diploma in Compliance Management from the University of Johannesburg, Master of Laws (LLM) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal). She is a member of the Institute of Directors of Southern Africa, the Institute of Directors of Lesotho and of the Compliance Institute of South Africa.