Executive and Non-executive Directors

Executive Director

Alan Smart

Alan Smart was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd in 1991 and of Lewis Group on 22 June 2004.

Alan joined Lewis in 1969. Prior to being appointed Chief Executive Officer he held the position of Joint Managing Director of Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd from 1984 to 1991 with responsibility for store operations and credit.

Alan previously occupied the position of Credit Director from 1981 to 1984 and prior to that, he held various financial control positions within the Lewis Group.

From 1995, in addition to his South African responsibilities, he was appointed Chairman of GUS Canada Inc., a retail furniture group of 65 stores in eastern Canada and oversaw a turnaround programme prior to the sale of part of the business and the collection of the debtors book of that company in 2000.

Alan was appointed to the Board of GUS plc in 1996 and subsequently resigned on 3 October 2004.

Non-executive Directors

David Nurek

David Nurek was appointed non-executive Chairman of Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd in 2001 and as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Lewis Group on 15 July 2004. He resigned from the Board of Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd in August 2004.

David practised as a commercial attorney at Sonnenberg Hoffmann Galombik for more than 30 years, ultimately serving as Chairperson. In July 2000 he moved to his current position with Investec Bank, as Regional Chairman Western Cape Investec Group. He also serves on the boards of, amongst others: New Clicks Holdings Limited, Foschini Limited and Pick 'n Pay Stores Limited. David has been associated with the Lewis Group for more than 20 years.

David Tyler

David Tyler was appointed as non-executive director of Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd in July 2003 and of Lewis Group on 22 June 2004. He resigned from the Board of Lewis Stores (Pty) Ltd in August 2004.

David graduated from Cambridge University, where he read Economics, in 1974.

He has worked for a number of companies incorporated in the United Kingdom. He spent the first 11 years of his career working for Unilever plc, in a variety of financial, commercial and strategic positions. In 1986 he joined County NatWest plc, where he worked in senior financial control roles. He then worked for Christie's International plc, from 1989 to 1996 as Finance Director and as President of Christie's America, a division of Christie's International plc. David has been Finance Director of GUS plc since February 1997. Aside from his financial role, he also has responsibility for the development of Group strategy and operational responsibility for some of GUS plc's smaller businesses. Since June 2002, he has been a non-executive director of Burberry Group plc.

He is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a Member of The Association of Corporate Treasurers in the United Kingdom.

Hilton Saven

Hilton Saven was appointed as an independent non-executive director of Lewis Group on 22 June 2004.

Hilton is a Chartered Accountant by training and has pursued a career in the accounting profession since 1975 with the firm Moores Rowland, currently being the Senior Partner of the Cape Town practice and chairman of Moores Rowland South Africa. He sits on the board of Moores Rowland International, which is an association of independent accounting firms throughout the world. He consults widely to private and public companies, particularly in the sphere of corporate finance and holds various directorships. His varied professional experience across numerous sectors enables him to add substantial value in relation to the Lewis Group's accounting and financial disclosure obligation in relation to corporate governance, transaction structuring and communication with shareholders. He is an independent non-executive chairman of Truworths International Limited.

Ben van der Ross

Ben van der Ross was appointed as an independent non-executive director of Lewis Group on 22 June 2004.

Ben practised as an attorney for 18 years and continues to consult for Van Der Ross Motala attorneys. He has been a director of the Urban Foundation, a director and later deputy CEO of the Independent Development Trust and CEO of the South African Rail Commuter Corporation Limited and Business South Africa. He was a commissioner of the Independent Electoral Commission for the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994.

Ben is currently appointed to the boards of among others: Naspers Limited, FirstRand Limited, Pick 'n Pay Stores Limited and Momentum Group Limited.