Director: Strategy
Karola McArthur
Profile
A Master of Strategy with 20+ years of experience across a large variety of industries and countries, successfully leading Corporate & Competitive Strategy Formulation & Implementation as well as organisational change initiatives. Dedicated to Shareholder Value improvement, Karola maintains a reputable career track record of growing company’s profitability, driving results and providing viable management solutions to organisational challenges.
Expertise
Corporate Strategy, Competitive Strategy development and implementation, M&A, Organisational change and transformation with work experience in Europe, UK, USA, South Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Specialised over the past 8 years in Insurance and Asset Management but also working in manufacturing environments.
Positions Held
2016 – present: Director at M&D Associates, advising in Sub-Saharan Africa on Strategy, M&A and Execution matters
2010 – 2015: Head of Corporate Strategy at Liberty Holdings
2008 – 2010: Head of Corporate Strategy Division at Deloitte Consulting
2004 – 2008: SAdvising various companies on value-based management, privatization and other strategic issues, incl. SAFCOL, Cadbury, Barloworld, DeBeers, SAPO
1995 – 2004: Deloitte Consulting – Head of Strategy and Operations Division
Key Strengths
Unleashing corporate value through organic strategies, M&A, unbundling, diversification, listing or other corporate measures
Financial management including corporate finance and capital position, EV / CFROI management, investment strategy
Market research, differentiation of customer value propositions and overall marketing expertise
Led a number of M&A projects, from target search to acquisition integration
Transforming businesses across trans-cultural settings
Deep expertise in sub-Saharan Africa (extensive work completed and networks build in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique)