Sakkie leads Agribank

The Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Bank of Namibia (Agribank), Ambassador Leonard Iipumbu, retires this week. Designated to follow him up is Old Mutual stalwart, Mr Sakaria Nghikembua.
Nghikembua previously led the transformation of Namibia Post Ltd as its Chief Executive Officer, and later served as CEO of Operations at Old Mutual and as Managing Director of Old Mutual Short-term Insurance Company (Namibia) Ltd where he led the successful integration of the former Mutual and Federal Insurance Company into Old Mutual Holdings (Namibia).
Within Old Mutual, he served as the founding Executive and Chairman of Old Mutual Finance, a lending company. He also served on the Boards of Old Mutual Transactional Services, Old Mutual Properties, the Old Mutual Foundation and the Investment Committee of the Old Mutual Investment Group (Namibia).
Nghikembua holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Namibia and a Master of Science in Financial Economics from the University of London. He has completed the Executive Development Programme at the University of Cape Town as well as various Strategy and Leadership courses from the University of the Witwatersrand, INSEAD in France and the Old Mutual Business School.
The Agribank board said Nghikembua emerged as the most suitable candidate to lead Agribank following a rigorous selection process that included an on-the-spot Business Strategy presentation to the Board, a competency-based interview and a battery of ten Ability and Personality assessments administered by professional psychometrists.
Board chairman, Terttu Uuyuni, said “We are truly privileged to have attracted a person of Nghikembua’s calibre. We are confident that he will provide the necessary leadership to ensure we not only meet and exceed our mandate but that we remain a champion for agricultural development”.
On his part, Nghikembua said “I feel honoured to have been accorded this opportunity to serve my country and people in this role. As always, I will apply myself fully to ensure I deliver on the mandate before us.”