CHAMWE KAIRA
Skeleton Basin Investments Limited has appointed three independent non-executive directors, including Debmarine Namibia chief executive officer Willy Mertens as chairman of the board.
The appointments, which took effect on 25 September 2026, were approved in accordance with the Namibia Securities Exchange Listings Requirements.
Mertens, who has been chief executive officer of Debmarine Namibia since November 2022, leads the company’s fleet of specialised offshore diamond recovery and exploration vessels operating off Namibia’s southern coast.
He previously served as chief financial officer of Debmarine Namibia, Namdeb Holdings and De Beers Namibia Holdings between 2013 and 2022.
He joined Debmarine Namibia in 2006 after working in internal audit roles at Namdeb and completing his articles at KPMG Namibia.
Mertens is also deputy chairperson of the Development Bank of Namibia, where he chairs the Board Credit and Investment Committee.
He serves on the boards of Old Mutual Investment Group Namibia and Namibia Energy Transition Fund Managers.
He is a Chartered Accountant (SA) (NAM) and Certified Internal Auditor and holds qualifications in mining engineering and advanced taxation.
The other new independent non-executive director is Otto Nakasole Shikongo, the former chief executive officer of Debmarine Namibia, which he led from December 2003 until his retirement in 2022.
Shikongo’s career across Namdeb, Debswana and Debmarine Namibia began in 1988. He is currently chairperson of FirstRand Namibia and a non-executive director of First National Bank of Namibia.
His previous board positions include the Namibia Securities Exchange, National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia, Namibian Ports Authority and Sanlam Namibia Holdings.
He also previously chaired the Namibia Training Authority and Roads Contractor Company and served as president of the Chamber of Mines of Namibia.
The third appointment is Bridget Venner, a geoscientist and oil and gas executive with more than 40 years of experience with Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil across several regions.
Venner was vice president and general manager of ExxonMobil Namibia from 2019 to 2024, where she led the company’s offshore frontier exploration business and advised the government on oil and gas legislation and its regulatory framework.
She also served as vice chair of the Namibia Petroleum Operators Association.
Following the appointments, Skeleton Basin’s board comprises Mertens as independent non-executive chairman, Shikongo and Venner as independent non-executive directors, Romé Mostert and Chastin Bassingthwaighte as non-executive directors, and Rowland Brown and Taimi Nangula Itembu as executive directors.
