137-year-old South African construction giant gets a new CEO

JSE-listed Aveng has announced the appointment of Fraser Wyllie as its CEO designate. Wyllie will take on the role from 1 October 2026. 

The construction giant announced the appointment in a statement via the JSE’s new service, after having been searching for a group CEO since 16 January. 

Founded in 1889 amid South Africa’s gold-mining boom, Aveng has come under severe pressure over the past decade. 

As South Africa’s economy and mining sector slowed, the company tried to diversify its earnings by investing heavily in Australia and New Zealand. 

At the time, the rationale was sound – replicate Aveng’s mining expertise in a new market. However, the company sought to achieve economies of scale across two vastly different businesses. 

Aveng tried to effectively combine New Zealand-based McConnell Dowell, which focuses on construction engineering and infrastructure, with its mining business, Moolmans. 

However, as FNB’s equity research team pointed out, the company realised these two businesses are operationally and strategically distinct with limited synergies. 

This was a costly error for Aveng, compounding the pain the company felt from the slowdown in mining in South Africa and minimal infrastructure spending from the government. 

Wyllie is charged with turning around the fortunes of Aveng at a time when infrastructure spending is expected to soar in South Africa and globally. 

Aveng said Wyllie is a highly experienced civil engineer with over 30 years of civil contracting experience in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. 

Wyllie joined McConnell Dowell in July 2017 as its managing director and successfully turned around numerous underperforming projects. 

Aveng said that over the past three years, Wyllie’s business unit has had no loss-making projects. He is expected to replicate this success at a group level. 

Wyllie might have some tailwinds at his back from increased infrastructure investment in Australasia and the Asia-Pacific region, which could help his turnaround. 

This may be coupled with increased mining investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, which will be supportive for Moolmans. 

Increased investment is likely, as there has been a decade of underinvestment in mining, creating supply-demand imbalances and soaring prices. 

He is also taking over a more nimble business after it disposed of several of its non-core assets to reduce debt. 

Aveng has also conducted numerous rights offers and has better cash flows, all of which contribute to a much stronger balance sheet.