André Marinus de Ruyter (born 1951) is a

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

businessman and power executive. He has previously worked at

Sasol Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...

and

Nampak Nampak (National Amalgamated Packaging) is a South African company based in Johannesburg, South Africa that specialises in the manufacturing and design of packaging. Nampak is the largest diversified packaging company in Africa. The company pro ...

. In December 2019, he was appointed

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. It was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) and was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM). Eskom repre ...

, South Africa's publicly owned electricity company. On 14 December 2022, the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

reported that he had stepped down.

Early life and education

de Ruyter was born in Pretoria in 1971. He has a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

, a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...

certificate and

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

, and a Masters of Business Administration from the

Nyenrode Business University Nyenrode Business Universiteit (abbreviated as ''NBU''; nl, Nyenrode Business Universiteit) is a Dutch business university and one of the five private universities in the Netherlands. Founded in 1946, it is located on a large estate in the town ...

Eskom

In December 2019, de Ruyter was appointed CEO of Eskom, South Africa's publicly owned electricity company. According to ''The Citizen'', during his tenure, de Ruyter targeted 'coal theft syndicates', increased levels of maintenance, and oversaw a shift towards renewable power. In December 2022, power cuts reached their severest levels ever. That same month, it emerged that de Ruyter had been criticised by

Gwede Mantashe Samson Gwede Mantashe, popularly known as Gwede Mantashe, (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and trade unionist, who as of 18 December 2017, serves as the National Chairperson of the African National Congress. He is also a former ...

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy is a minister in the cabinet of the South African national government. The portfolio was called the Ministry of Minerals and Energy until May 2009, when President Jacob Zuma split it into two separ ...

and Chairperson of the ruling

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

. Mantashe called de Ruyter a 'policeman' and accused Eskom of 'agitating for the overthrow of the state'. After these remarks were reported, de Ruyter resigned, citing a loss of support from 'the broader political economy'.

Ghaleb Cachalia Ghaleb Cachalia (born 12 November 1956) is a South African businessman and a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Democratic Alliance (DA). He is the son of anti-Apartheid activists Amina and Yusuf Cachalia, and a relative of former African Nat ...

, Shadow

Minister of Public Enterprises The Minister of Public Enterprises is a minister in the cabinet of the national government of South Africa. He is appointed by the President of South Africa and is the political head of the Department of Public Enterprises, which was establishe ...

of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

, accused Mantashe of a 'relentless campaign against a man who despite having one hand tied behind his back' attempted to fight corruption. He further said that

Pravin Gordhan Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (born 12 April 1949) is a politician and anti-apartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017, ...

, the Minister of Public Enterprises, had been 'powerless in the face of Mantashe'. The

National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) is the biggest single trade union in South Africa with more than 338,000 members, and prior to its expulsion on 8 November 2014, the largest affiliate of the Congress of South African Tr ...

welcomed his resignation, citing his 'incompetence'; it further called for Gordhan's resignation.

References

{{reflist 1951 births South African businesspeople

Early life and education

Eskom

See also

References