General Motors South Africa (GMSA) has appointed Elvis Hermans as the new Government Relations and Public Policy Manager effective September 1st, 2014. Hermans will “focus on creating awareness of strategic business issues which are impacted by legislation and public policy while forging closer relationships with government”, according to a GM news release.
Elvis Hermans
“I plan to engage with local and provincial governments, particularly in the Eastern Cape where we are located, and in Gauteng where we do the bulk of our business. I also intend to network with other companies in the automotive and other sectors, to benchmark against best practices as we strive to advance our social transformation efforts,” said Hermans.
Hermans, 50, comes to The General after a 16-year career at British American Tobacco, where his last role was as sustainability manager focused on advancing socio-economic development and black economic empowerment. He spent most of his working career in the Western Cape. The Queenstown-born said he was excited to be back in his home province, adding: “I am particularly pleased to be working in an industry with solid relationships in place with government, and existing partnerships on which to build,” he said.
Outside of the time he spent working British American Tobacco, Hermans also worked in local government in Stellenbosch for 11 years, and 18 years in the liquor and tobacco industries in the fields of risk management, government relations, and corporate and regulatory affairs.
He holds a Diploma in Local Government from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Hill University in the USA. Hermans has also completed a leadership development program at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at the University of Pretoria, and is currently working towards his MBA through GIBS.
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