Prime Highlights-
- Tamryn Sass, former Nelson Mandela Foundation general counsel, joined Coca-Cola as director and legal counsel for compliance and employment in Africa.
- Sass moves into her first commercial in-house role after years leading governance, compliance and legal strategy in public and nonprofit institutions.
Key Facts-
- Sass spent nearly seven years at the City of Cape Town as head of compliance and probity.
- She announced the move on LinkedIn on September 28 from her base in Johannesburg.
Background-
Tamryn Sass, until recently general counsel of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, has joined Coca-Cola as director and legal counsel for compliance and employment in Africa.
Sass, who is based in Johannesburg, announced the move in a LinkedIn post on Monday, September 28. She said the role brings together legal counsel, compliance and ethics, employment law and governance, and lets her work across a diverse and dynamic continent within a global organization.
She began her career at Smith Tabata Attorneys in the Eastern Cape, where she rose to head of commercial litigation and labor law. Since 2015, she has held in-house roles. Coca-Cola is her first job in a commercial company.
Sass spent nearly seven years at the City of Cape Town, where she became head of compliance and probity and oversaw governance and regulatory advice. She then spent four years at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where she handled governance, legal strategy, risk and intellectual property.
In an earlier post about leaving the foundation, Sass said ethical leadership shows in the choices people make when doing right is inconvenient or costly.
Her appointment follows Unilever’s January hire of Ntswaki Kutumela as general counsel for Africa. Kutumela brings deep experience in the drinks and consumer goods industries.
African in-house counsel have also driven fresh innovation as they adapt to changing regulations, according to recent commentary.
