Speaker

André Oberholzer is Group Head for Corporate Affairs at Sappi Limited, a global pulp and paper company with operations across South Africa, North America, and Europe. With more than 24 years’ service, he has global responsibility for corporate and business communication, including social impact, stakeholder, brand and reputation management.

He is a member of the Group Management Committee. He chairs the company Brand Council, ensuring close alignment between corporate, service, and product branding. He also serves on the Sappi SA Social Impact Committee and the Group Sustainability and Risk councils.

He is an active participant in industry forums in South Africa and globally. He was the first person from Africa to be certified Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP). He is a board member of the Global Communication Certification Council (GCCC). He has judged PRISA PRISM awards; IABC Africa Silver Quill and IABC Global Gold Quill awards; as well as MACE Excellence awards. Prior to joining Sappi, he spent 14 years as a diplomat for South Africa.

As a US$5,5 billion global diversified wood fibre company, Sappi operates 18 production facilities across nine countries, providing dissolving wood pulp, packaging and specialty paper, graphic paper, forestry products, as well as biomaterials and biochemicals to its direct and indirect customer base. In South Africa, Sappi owns and manages some 400 000 hectares of commercial forestry, approximately 139 000 hectares of which are natural areas that remain permanently unplanted to support biodiversity.