Mercedes-Benz South Africa Limited (“MBSA”) announced personnel changes within its executive committee.
Andreas Brand, currently serving as chief executive officer (“CEO”) and Executive Director of MBSA: Manufacturing, has tendered his resignation. He will assume a new role as Executive: Production Network CKD and Mid Volume, based in Stuttgart, Germany, effective from 30 November 2025.
In this new role, Andreas will be responsible for seven manufacturing plants of Mercedes-Benz AG globally, including the strategic oversight of the East London manufacturing operations.
He joined Mercedes-Benz in 1997 in Rastatt, Germany. Notably, he has held various leadership positions in the company and worked in planning and production in Germany and abroad.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and the semiconductor crisis, he was responsible for global programme planning. Since 2022, he has held the position of CEO and Executive Director: Manufacturing, based out of the award-winning East London manufacturing plant, leading the investment of R13 billion by MBSA and the launch of the latest model of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Succeeding Andreas in the position as CEO of MBSA will be Abey Kgotle, effective 1 December 2025. Abey currently serves as the Executive Director of Human Resources and Corporate Affairs at MBSA. He is an accomplished Human Resources and Corporate Affairs professional with experience across the private and public sectors, with extensive experience spanning over 20 years of strategic Human Resources management, labour relations, advanced negotiations, community & social investment and stakeholder engagement.
Abey has held executive roles at several blue-chip companies across the mining and manufacturing industries, including Lonmin Plc, GrafTech South Africa and Samancor Manganese. His public sector experience includes Senior HR Management roles at local government at the City of Johannesburg and Naschem, a division of state-owned enterprise, Denel.
He previously served on the boards of Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services as Chairman and Director, respectively. In addition, his contribution at MBSA currently includes serving as Chairman of the Automobile Employers Organisation (AMEO) representing South Africa’s Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
Commenting on these appointments, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Wilfried Porth says: “On behalf of the Board of Directors, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Andreas for his visionary leadership, unwavering commitment and invaluable contributions to MBSA. His leadership is marked by innovation, operational excellence and sustainable progress for long-term impact. We wish him continued success as he embarks on this exciting new chapter at Mercedes-Benz AG. We warmly welcome Abey on his appointment as CEO of MBSA Limited. We look forward to his leadership, which will bring new energy and vision as he continues to build on our solid foundation in pursuit of new opportunities for growth and innovation.”
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