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Gerrit Van der Merwe – OMA Group
The OMA Group (West Africa) has strengthened its strategic management team with the appointment of Gerrit van der Merwe as Group Finance & Administration Director.
Gerrit will take up his post on June 6th following four years as Regional Business Controller for GAC based most recently in Cape Town, South Africa. Gerrit will be based in Ghana and will be directly responsible for overseeing all Group finances as well as driving the development plan to consolidate the activities of the OMA Group throughout West Africa.
Gary Miller, OMA Group Managing Director commented:
“I am delighted that the OMA Group has attracted a person of the calibre and quality of Gerrit, whose recent background with first class global player, GAC will stand us in good stead. We look forward to a mutually beneficial and challenging yet exciting partnership together in the future months and years.”
OMA Group (West Africa)
OMA Group offers unrivalled expertise in liner and non-liner agency, vessel husbandry and logistics – both offshore and inland – in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Togo and Benin with support from a European sales & marketing office.
With over 30 years experience in West Africa we understand the challenges of doing business in emerging markets. The combination of operational know-how with unsurpassed local expertise enables us to respond quickly and efficiently to customer needs. We are proud of our long-standing relationships with both customers and suppliers, and of our track record in the region.
Gerrit van der Merwe
Gerrit first studied at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg USA on a tennis scholarship after which he went to the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa from where he obtained graduate and postgraduate degrees.
After University he did his 3 year articles of clerkship at a Cape Town based chartered accountants firm. His commercial finance career started at a medical device company as Financial/HR Manager and was later promoted to Group Financial Manager of a number of companies and later as Operational Executive overseeing a workforce of 200+ staff and production, supply chain, warehouse and distribution, quality and assurance managers reporting into him. After four years he was headhunted to join one of South Africa’s largest retail/wholesale companies as Operational Finance Executive overseeing the financial activities of more than 100 retail stores and 18 megastores.
Gerrit’s shipping and logistics career started in 2010 when he joined GAC as General Manager Finance overseeing all financial activities relating to shipping, logistics, marine and manning services operation in Nigeria. After two years in Nigeria, he was promoted to Regional Business Controller based in Cairo, Egypt. After 1 year in Egypt the Group Vice President and Gerrit relocated the GAC Regional Office to Cape Town, South Africa from where he managed the all financial activities of GAC offices in South Africa, Angola, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Egypt, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
