Amiable Peter Manda has seemingly discovered that all is not gold that glitters at Mamelodi Sundowns and is relinquishing his position as CEO of the Brazilians to return to club president Patrice Motsepe’s ARMGold mining consortium.
The quietly spoken, articulate CEO has only been at the helm of Sundowns for little more than a year, and while Motsepe proclaimed in making the unheralded announcement on Thursday that Manda was required for ”urgent business at ARMGold”, a widespread view is that he had been something of a square peg in a round hole in the cut-throat environment of professional football.
Manda may indeed have been too much of a nice guy as he failed to make the forceful impact the go-ahead Motsepe had expected from his youthful protégé.
The Sundowns president and 100% shareholder, however, praised what he called Manda’s ”important achievements in a difficult transition period” after high-profiled previous CEO Natasha Tsichlas had stepped down when she and husband Angelo sold their shareholding in the club.
Motsepe also said he has three worthy candidates lined up to fill the position and an appointment is likely in ”the near future”.
In the meantime, deputy CEO Jose Ferreira will double up as acting CEO — a job he handled before the appointment of Manda, who, apart from returning to ARMGold, will also remain on the Brazilians’ board of directors. — Sapa