People and leadership
A year of thriving together
In 2025, we celebrated growth, leadership, and excellence across every level of the business.
From welcoming new leadership to recognising long-standing service, from professional milestones to rising stars, 2025 showed us that Exxaro thrives when our people do.
Welcoming our CEO: Ben Magara
We started the year with a powerful moment of unity as employees across all Business Units gathered, in person and virtually, to welcome Ben Magara as Exxaro’s new CEO.
The conneXXion came alive with music, celebration and heartfelt excitement as Ben shared his commitment to safety, integrity and purpose-driven leadership.
“We have a clear purpose in this company – to power better lives in Africa and beyond – and we’ll pursue that purpose with unwavering commitment.”
Watch the CEO inauguration highlights video
Watch Matla CEO Roadshow
Watch Belfast CEO Roadshow
Key new appointments in 2025
Following our announcement on leadership and structural changes in June, we shared some key appointments that will further strengthen our ability to deliver on our SG&I strategy:
Caroline Shirindza
Executive Head: Coal
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Caroline has a distinguished 20-year career in the coal mining industry and currently serves as vice president (VP) for operations at Secunda Collieries, responsible for five collieries producing over 32 million tonnes of coal annually and managing a workforce of approximately 8 000 employees.
Caroline holds a Mining Engineering degree, an MBA, and a Government Certificate of Competency for fiery mines, and is recognised as a leader in operational excellence, transformation, and talent development.
Executive Head: Sustainability (Designate)
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Neo Monareng brings more than 20 years of mining and energy experience, most recently as General Manager of Greenside and Khwezela Collieries at Thungela Resources where she oversaw both underground and opencast operations, with an excellent safety record.
Neo holds an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science, a B-Tech in Mining Engineering from the University of Johannesburg, and a National Diploma in Mining Engineering. She is a member of the South African Colliery Managers Association.
Mongezi Veti, The current Executive Head for Sustainability, will be retiring in July 2026 after 23 years of service. We extend our gratitude for his invaluable contribution. Neo Monareng has been appointed as the designate Executive Head: Sustainability to allow for a seamless transition in preparation for Mongezi’s retirement.
Executive Head: Technical Services
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Mervin is a seasoned executive with over three decades of experience spanning mining, engineering, mineral separation, and smelting industries. He has delivered multi-billion-rand projects at Exxaro, including the commissioning of the Belfast Mine, Grootegeluk expansions, and the Leeuwpan life-of-mine extension – consistently ahead of schedule and under budget, while achieving significant cost savings. Mervin holds an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch, a Master’s in Mining from the University of Pretoria, and he is also a registered professional engineer.
Executive Head: Commercial
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Fortune is a seasoned commercial and supply chain leader with extensive experience spanning the mining, energy, transport, and financial sectors. He brings over three decades of strategic leadership and transformation expertise to Exxaro. Fortune holds a Master’s in Business Leadership (MBL) from UNISA and a BCom Honours in Marketing, Human Resources, Business Strategy, and Procurement. He has also completed executive programmes at the Wirtschaft Akademie in Germany, and at London Business School.
Fortune is widely recognised for building high-performing teams, fostering collaborative partnerships, and delivering measurable value across complex commercial environments.
Exxaro recognised as a Top Employer (Again!)
For the fourth year, Exxaro earned certification as a Top Employer in South Africa – a recognition of our people-first practices, our culture of learning, and our continued progress across DEI, leadership development, talent strategy, well-being, and rewards. We are excited to continue building a workplace where every employee can bring their best self to work and be empowered to create impact.
A big win for office professionals
This year marked a first for Exxaro – a cohort of our Office Professionals became officially certified members of OPSA (The Association for Office Professionals of South Africa). The certification celebrated not just skills, but growth, confidence and professional identity. Sinegugu Ndletyana, Chairperson of the Exxaro Office Professionals Forum, was also recognised as second runner-up at the National Administrative Excellence Awards – a true testament to her leadership and contribution to uplifting others. These achievements spotlight the often unseen champions who help Exxaro flourish every day.
Recognition Awards across the business
Belfast Coal: Hall of Fame
Under the Hall of Fame theme, Belfast honoured outstanding contributions of employees and business partners. From individual accolades to team achievements, the awards highlighted both internal efforts and external partnerships and celebrated collaboration, resilience, and excellence – values that continue to define the unit and the people that drive it forward.
Matla’s awards reflected a year of transformation, innovation, academic growth, safety achievements, and operational progress, including the incident-free closure of the Shortwall. The ceremony also paid tribute to leadership that guided Matla’s evolution.
With an elegant trophy redesign and heartfelt performances, Grootegeluk honoured teams and individuals whose consistent excellence has shaped the mine’s long-term success.
Rising Talent: Lungile Malinga-Qangule
Another standout moment this year was the recognition of Lungile Malinga-Qangule (Principal: Growth) as a finalist in the TransUnion Rising Star Awards. These awards celebrate young leaders under 40 making a meaningful impact.
“This recognition is a reflection of the incredible mentors, colleagues, and partners who have challenged, inspired, and supported me throughout my journey.”
Long Service Awards: Celebrating commitment
Every year, Exxaro honours employees who have reached service milestones from five to 40 years.
These celebrations speak to the heart of our culture namely loyalty, resilience and a shared purpose built over decades. We applaud our long-service employees, who really embody what it means to build a thriving organisation – one year, one project, one task at a time.
To view the full article in the previous edition click here.
Evergreen Awards: Celebrating excellence across Exxaro
In August, Exxaro hosted the Evergreen Awards, honouring the standout achievements and innovations that strengthened our business in 2024. The event recognised the people whose commitment to excellence drives our resilience and future growth. Guided by the theme Built on a Firm Foundation: Exxaro’s Next Growth Phase, the ceremony highlighted the progress of our SG&I Strategy and the role our people play in shaping it. A powerful opening poem by Lebo Mashile captured Exxaro’s journey from coal origins to a future in critical minerals and renewable energy, reminding us that our greatest strength is the imagination and determination of our people.
PIT Symposium 2025: #Resilience4Life: Find your Awe
Our young professionals gathered at this year’s PIT Symposium to showcase innovation, growth and inspired thinking. Under the theme #Resilience4Life – Find Your Awe, every PIT demonstrated what the future of Exxaro looks like – creative, driven, and committed to “Powering better lives”.
Here’s to another year of leadership, growth, and possibility and to celebrating the people who make Exxaro thrive.
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