JSE-listed industrial giant, Imperial Group, on Thursday said it had appointed Mark Lamberti (63), the founder and former CEO of retail giant, Massmart, as its new CEO with effect from March 1 this year.

Lamberti succeeds Hubert Brody, who will remain on the board of Imperial as non-executive director, at the helm of Imperial.

Imperial was at pains on Thursday afternoon to state that the appointment came after an extensive search for the right candidate.

South African companies often come under heavy fire when they head-hunt talent without conducting a proper search and interviews.

Lamberti was the leader of Massmart, which has Makro retail outlets throughout Africa, before it was acquired by the world’s greatest retailer, the US-based Walmart, a couple of years back.

Walmart was attracted to Massmart by its huge presence in Africa and plans to use South Africa as a springboard to the greater continent.

After securing the Massmart/Wal-Mart transaction, Lamberti went into new business one last time before halting his entrepreneurial journey.

He joined Transaction Capital, a company that provides non-banking niche financial services to under-served segments of society, as CEO, before resigning late last year.