Barend Petersen

Chairperson, DBCM De Beers Group

Mr. B Petersen CA (SA) (1995) is a well-respected businessman with a wealth of experience as chairman and director of listed and unlisted companies. Barend is involved in non-governmental organisations. Barend is the Executive Chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines (“DBCM”), Chairman of the Social and Ethics Committee and a director of the De Beers Group. He is a director of Ponahalo, the BBBEE partner of DBCM. He is a member of the Board of the Minerals Council of South Africa and the chairperson of the Diamond Leadership Forum. He is the former chairman of the De Beers Group Sustainability Committee. He is a former Chairman of the DBCM Audit Committee and a former member of the De Beers Group Audit Committee.  
Barend is a director of companies, including of Macrovest Capital and AGL, the Petersen family investment companies. He is former director of, inter alia,  Alexander Forbes Holdings, Curro Holdings and Anglo America South Africa. He served as Chairman and/or member of several Audit Committees. Barend has extensive consulting and business turnaround experience. He is a former senior partner of audit firm SizweNtsaluba VSP, now SNG Grant Thornton. Barend is a founding member and Chief Facilitator of the Institute For Committed Action led by the Archbishop T Makgoba of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. IFCA initiative brings together the government, mining industry, labour and civil society to provide safe space for courageous dialogue between the parties. Barend is a member of the Steering Committee of the Mining Faith Reflection Initiative involving the Methodist, Anglican and Catholic churches and the major mining companies. Those involved in the Initiative share a vision for mining to serve the common good better, by enabling those engaged and affected by its activities to lead lives that are fulfilled, just, and reflect human dignity and respect. They do so with regard for both current and future generations. Barend is a founding member and Trustee of the Indlulamithi South African Scenarios 2030, a multi-stakeholder research-driven initiative that seeks to help understand the country's trajectory and make long-term informed decisions.