Alexander van Coller Thiel

Mr Thiel joined Sappi in December 1989 as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Chairman in Johannesburg. In April 1993, as part of Sappi’s expansion into Europe, he moved to Brussels as the Administration Manager reporting to the Managing Director of Sappi Europe. With the creation of Sappi Europe, he was appointed in February 1998 as Manager Marketing Intelligence, reporting to the Sales and Marketing Director. He led the project to implement the sales, marketing and distribution modules of SAP across the European business. In January 2003, he became the Director Logistics, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Europe. He was appointed as Group Head Procurement of Sappi Limited in January 2008 and Integration Executive, in charge of the integration of the acquired M-real business into Sappi’s operations in September 2008.

He led a project to redefine and implement Sappi’s ‘go-to-market’ strategy in Europe from October 2009. Mr Thiel was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Southern Africa with effect from 01 December 2010. In this role he has supported Sappi Southern Africa’s management to streamline the South African kraft, fine paper and dissolving pulp divisions into a single business unit, close the Adamas Mill, sell the Enstra and Cape Kraft Mills and the Sappi Usutu operations in Swaziland. He has helped management to establish a second dissolving pulp operation at the Ngodwana Mill.