Staff Writer
The Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group has announced the appointment of Gunther Ling as Managing Director (MD) its subsidiary, Hartlief.
Ling, who has been with the O&L Group for the last 13 years and started in the Finance Department of the Group, and later Broll Namibia, had been serving as MD of another O&L subsidiary, Namibia Dairies, for the last seven years.
Thereafter, he joined Namibia Dairies as the Financial Director before moving into operations which gave him good insight into factory life and manufacturing and was then appointed Managing Director of Namibia Dairies from 2014 to 2019.
He was previously tasked with overseeing Windhoek Schlachterei, also a subsidiary of O&L, which is fully integrated into Namibia Dairies.
“Being familiar with the Windhoek Schlachterei business will assist me in my new role, because Schlachterei is being integrated into Hartlief. Moving forward, there will also be more interaction between Hartlief and Namibia Dairies, with the latter assisting with the sales and distribution of meat. Having connections with both sides makes my role in coordination easier. I often see these companies as one, because there are strong relationships and synergies between them. Whenever there are synergies like these, it feels like a 1+1=3 situation. There is huge potential with Hartlief and Schlachterei working together, because Namibia is a meat country with the expertise to produce high quality meat,” he said.
Ling said he looks forward to expanding Hartlief’s foothold in South Africa and having their processed meat products reach consumers in neighbouring countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and even as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“We have an organised industry and good logistics systems which enable us to reach those countries. Nothing happens overnight, but it is a dream that comes with a lot of hope and excitement. With all the plans to advance Hartlief, people will always be at the heart of everything we do – in line with O&L’s value of growing people,” he said
“Both O&L and Hartlief have unique stories, rich with history and heritage and it is important not to lose that. Instead, their stories should be combined through thoughtful cultural integration which needs to happen naturally. Hartlief has a great team of people who will effortlessly adopt the O&L values. Another member of the O&L family, Namibia Breweries Limited, will be celebrating its centenary this year. Hartlief has been in business for 74 years and with Windhoek Schlachterei’s 47 years of experience, I don’t see why anything should stand in the way of Hartlief similarly reaching 100 years.”
