Spar Chair Mike Bosman Resigns With Immediate Effect

Spar chair Mike Bosman and deputy chair Shirley Zinn have resigned from the Spar Group board with immediate effect, the company confirmed on 17 August 2026, according to a report by Moneyweb. The Spar chair resigns as the retailer undergoes what it has described as governance restructuring, prompting the board to appoint interim leadership while a formal search for replacements begins.

Lwazi Koyana, an independent non-executive director who has served on the board for more than seven years, has been named interim chair with immediate effect. The Nominations Committee, now chaired by Koyana, has launched a search for new non-executive directors with retail and independent-retailer experience.

Both Bosman and Zinn concluded separately that stepping down was in the company's best interests, even as the board affirmed its full support for them. The board's statement said that under his chairmanship, Bosman had strengthened Spar's governance, risk and control environment, simplified the group's portfolio and restored operational continuity. He took over the role in December 2022 during a period of governance strain at the retailer, and briefly served as executive chair between January and October 2023 following the retirement of former group CEO Brett Botten.

Zinn joined the Spar board in February 2023 and was appointed deputy chair four months later, leading the remuneration committee, where she introduced malus and clawback provisions along with revised minimum shareholding rules for executives, according to the board's statement.

Following the departures, Spar reconstituted its board committees. Funke Ighodaro now chairs both the Audit and Risk Committees, Liesbeth Botha chairs the Remuneration and Business Transformation Committees, and Sundeep Naran chairs the Social, Ethics and Sustainability Committee. The board reaffirmed support for group CEO Reeza Isaacs and CFO Megan Pydigadu, stating that the company's turnaround strategy and financial guidance remain unaffected by the leadership changes.

The resignations coincided with Spar shares touching a 52-week low of R42.55 on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, down roughly 60%, Moneyweb reported. Fellow retailer Clicks also hit a 52-week low around the same time, pointing to broader pressure across South Africa's retail sector.

The leadership shake-up adds Spar to a wider list of companies facing board and governance scrutiny this year, a trend also visible in unrelated cases abroad such as the KPMG audit scandal in Australia. More on Spar Group's international operations is available on the company's official website.

No timeline has been set for appointing a permanent chair and deputy chair. Spar said its turnaround plan and support for independent Guild retailers remain on track despite the changes at the top of the board.