International Panel Of Judges -The CFO 2018
Desilan Pillay, BSc (Mechanical Engineering),
Management Consultant & Entrepreneur
This 2018 is Desilan’s first service as an esteemed judge of this competition. He holds a BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering and has completed a post-graduate Certificate in Business Management (GIMT), and MDP (UCT). He recently started his own entrepreneurial venture, with a focus on management consulting, having been head-hunted to serve as Logistics Director –Unilever Africa, where his multi-billion rand portfolio spanned across Unilever’s businesses in East, West & Southern Africa. Whilst at Unilever, he oversaw the design and implementation of Logistics Excellence programmes, with the intent of reducing cost, enhancing service, and furthering the digital supply chain aspirations, including the identification of synergies, collaboration across cross-functional teams, and driving positive P&L impact to the group’s businesses across the continent.
Prior to his role at Unilever, Desilan completed 9 progressively challenging years at SABMiller -now ABInBev, culminating into his appointment as Director: Logistics Procurement – Africa; a position created after the acquisition of SABMiller by AB InBev, to provide expertise and supply chain optimisation across the group’s activities on the African continent. Prior to this, he was Head: Supply Chain & Logistics Procurement at SABMiller, with a span of control across South Africa (SAB & ABI), Southern Africa (Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia & Malawi), East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan & Ethiopia), West Africa (Nigeria & Ghana), and Zimbabwe. Prior to this, he served as Regional Category Manager: Supply Chain & Logistics – South Africa; Regional Operations Services Manager; Depot Manager; Operations Development Manager; Executive Assistant; Production Unit Manager (ABI – soft drinks division of SAB), as well as Site Services Manager; and Plant Engineer at African Oxygen Limited (AFROX) GOC. Taken together, Desilan has over 15 years of executive management experience in key areas pertinent to The CFO 2018 Ab InBev Case Study: Project Management, Engineering, Production (Gases), Packaging (FMCG), Operations Management, Financial Management, Sales & Distribution, and Procurement.
