The Western Province Cricket Association has appointed finance manager Tennyson Botes as interim CEO after Nabeal Dien ended his 22-year tenure with WPCA at the end of April.
The game of cricket has always been an intimate part of Botes’ life and he has been a representative player on various levels throughout his career, including captaining the first team of his alma mater, Paarl Boys’ High, in 2006, captaining Boland U18 in the Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week and Boland U19 cricket teams in 2006-07, representing the Boland amateur cricket team in 2007 and representing Paarl Cricket Club and Maties in 2007-08.
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Botes graduated with a Bachelor of Accounting (Hon) degree from Stellenbosch University in 2011, after matriculating from Paarl Boys’ High School in 2006.
During his studies at Stellenbosch University, where he also formed part of the Thuthuka Bursary Fund, he was awarded the Golden Key Award in his first year in recognition of his excellent academic performance.
In 2012 he started his articles with the Auditor General of SA (AGSA) as a trainee auditor. This exposure to such a vast client base in the public sector, which included the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, the South African Post Office, the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport and local municipalities in the Western Cape, among others, placed him at the cutting edge of financial reporting, planning, monitoring and review of projects and financial leadership.
Upon completion of his articles with the AGSA and after being appointed as an assistant audit manager there in 2015, he registered as a chartered accountant and member of SAICA.
In many ways, Tennyson returned to his beloved cricketing family in 2017 when he was appointed as finance manager of Western Province Cricket Association, Western Cape Cricket (Pty) Ltd (the Cape Cobras franchise) and Western Province Professional Cricket (Pty) Ltd, bringing technical, commercial governance and leadership strengths to the team under previous CEO Nabeal Dien.
WPCA president Adv Nic Kock conveyed his message of support for Botes:
‘Mr Botes has acted with aplomb in place of the outgoing CEO on several occasions, therefore his appointment is a natural progression for this dynamic young man. The WPCA Board has full confidence in his leadership during these critical times for sport in our country’s history.’
Botes expressed pride and honour in his appointment: ‘I look forward to the opportunity to be of service to the cricket fraternity in these unprecedented times. I would therefore like to thank the president, Nic Kock, and the WPCA board for displaying the confidence in me and presenting me with this amazing opportunity in this interim period.
‘My journey in various leadership roles has brought me to this sobering realization, “When you LEAD, be sure to leave leadership IMPRINTS that are deep enough so that when it rains, those who follow in your pathway, can quench their thirst.”‘
Photo: Supplied
