Metair appoints Paul O’Flaherty as new CEO 

Metair Investments has announced that Paul O’Flaherty will take over as the company’s new CEO starting 1 February following the resignation of Sjoerd Douwenga. 

Douwenga announced his resignation, effective 31 January 2024, in December last year due to health reasons. He will be available to Metair until the end of March to ensure a smooth transition. 

The Metair board said he served the organisation with dedication, first as chief financial officer and most recently as CEO.

Metair said it is grateful for Douwenga’s meaningful contribution during his tenure, adding that it understood his decision and wished him well. 

O’Flaherty is a qualified Chartered Accountant (SA) and joins Metair from EY Parthenon, which he led from February 2021 to January 2024.

Before joining EY, he was responsible for Absa’s $1 billion separation from Barclays.

He began his career with PwC in 1986 and served as an audit partner in the energy and mining sector for six years. 

Since 2001, he has served in CFO and CEO roles in JSE-listed companies, including Group Five and ArcelorMittal South Africa. 

O’Flaherty also has experience working in the public sector at Eskom and in large multinational private companies.

“Paul has a remarkable track record across multiple emerging markets coupled with in-depth experience in turnarounds, restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, and programme and project management,” Metair’s Board said. 

The Board said it believes that this appointment will stabilise Metair, the market and other key stakeholders and accelerate the execution of its key initiatives to unlock value for shareholders.

From its headquarters in Johannesburg, Metair manages an international portfolio of companies that manufacture, distribute and retail products for energy storage and automotive components.

Metair was formed in 1948, becoming a supplier of automotive components to a single manufacturer in South Africa in 1964. 

Today, Metair is a global company with multiple customers worldwide, a broad range of aftermarket and non-automotive products, operations in five countries and ambitions to grow into five continents within the next five years.