Board of Directors
Dr Luis Ceneviz
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Luis is the Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Tyres SA (Pty) Ltd. Prior to joining the Apollo Tyres group; he worked for Goodyear Tyres for 28 years. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience - he worked in 7 countries before moving to South Africa, in various roles from manufacturing, sales and marketing. Amongst others he was the Chairman and Managing Director for Goodyear in India, as well as the CEO of South Pacific Tyres in Australia.
Luis is a qualified engineer with qualifications in production management and industrial engineering. Further academic qualifications include two MBA’s from Ecole des Ponts et Chausses Paris (France). Luis also holds a PhD in Management from Indian Institute Of Technology – Delhi (India). Luis has been the driving force behind rejuvenating our manufacturing capability in South Africa, as well as our growth strategy for Africa and Latin America. Luis will in addition to being the CEO, also assume the role of Chairman of the Board.
Khooblall (Khoobs) Somur
Executive Director
Khoobs is currently Head of Technical Services and Quality for Apollo Tyres SA (Pty) Ltd (ATSA). He has been with the company for 30 years in various roles – he started as an in-service trainee (technical) and over time occupied various management positions.
Khoobs’ academic qualifications include a National Diploma in Chemical Engineering from Natal Technikon, a Diploma in Plastics and Rubber from Pretoria Technikon and completed the MDP Programme through the University of KwaZulu Natal. Khoobs has been instrumental in driving the company’s technical competency in design, as well as the implementation of various quality systems and accreditations. He has also been part of the team that has driven rejuvenated product performance and brand acceptability
Manish Bhatia
Executive Director
Manish is currently Head of Finance and IT for Apollo Tyres SA (Pty) Ltd (ATSA). Prior to joining Apollo, he worked for Essar Steel Ltd for 5 years where he started as a management trainee, and an assistant manager in finance.
Manish’s academic qualifications include a B.Com in Finance from Commerce College, Rajasthan University (India) as well as being a Chartered Accountant (CA). He was also part of the first group of management that attended the Advanced Leadership Development Programme (ALDP) in India, as well as one of the first recipients for the Apollo Roll Of Honour. Manish was instrumental in the successful implementation of SAP ERP implementation at Apollo in India.
Thembisa Dingaan
Non-Executive Director
Thembisa is a qualified attorney, having obtained her B.Proc and LLB from the University of KZN. She furthered her studies at Harvard University in the USA, obtaining her LLM and was also an admitted attorney at New York State Bar.
Thembisa is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), where she has the additional responsibility of sitting as a member of the Credit and Investment, Audit and Risk, Development Fund Risk, Human Resources and Remuneration Committees.
She also holds directorships in various capacities with JSE listed companies Mustek Limited, Imperial Group and Chairs of Ukhamba Holdings (Pty) Limited, Imperial’s staff owned Black Economic Empowerment Vehicle. In August 2008, Thembisa was appointed by Cabinet as a member of the board of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC).
Linda Ncgobo
Non-Executive Director
Linda is the CEO of AQRate KZN, a Durban based verification agency, which has been in operation for the last 8 years. Prior to being a founding member of AQRate KZN, she served as Chief Financial Officer of the KZN Provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism. Linda is currently part of the Board and Audit Committee of the University of Zululand Foundation, and has been a member of the KZN Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee since 2008.
Linda completed her B.Comm Degree at the University of Zululand and is a qualified Charted Accountant (CA) SA.