Patison Sithole (Chairman)
Patison was appointed Chairman of the Board on 22 February 2006. Until he was appointed to this position, he had been serving as the Deputy Chairman. He has vast experience in business, and is the Group Managing Director of ZSR Corporation. He sits on the boards of Sugar Distributors (Pvt.) Ltd and Kabwe Industrial Fabrics (Zambia), and is the chairman of Sugar Industries (Pvt.) Ltd (Botswana), besides being an executive member of the Zimbabwe Sugar Association. He holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) degree from the University of Zimbabwe, a Masters in Business Leadership from UNISA, and is a Chartered Accountant.

Happymore Mapara (Group Chief Executive)
Happymore Mapara, a chartered secretary by profession, joined the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe Group in 1995. After a successful tenure as group treasurer, he became executive assistant to the managing director in 2002 and has overseen technical operations such as crop procurement. Happymore was appointed to the position of managing director of The Cotton Company in October 2004. He is also the chairman of Scottco (Private) Limited, Quton Seed Company, Motmate Designs (Private) Limited, Cotpro limited and oversees the regional operations.

Hmapara@cottco.co.zw

Cathrine Chitiyo
Cathrine, who was appointed to the board on 1 December 2002, is a partner with Wickwar & Chitiyo Legal Practitioners. She has previously served as a public prosecutor in the Attorney General’s office in Harare and is a founding partner of Chitiyo-Msipa and Associates Legal Practitioners. Cathrine sits on several boards including those of Global Insurance Company Limited, Africom (Private) Limited, National Aids Council and the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association. She holds BL (Honours) and LLB degrees from the University of Zimbabwe.

Lawrence F. Preston
Lawrence has been involved in cotton merchandising for more than 48 years and is currently the president of Lawrence Preston Associates, a commodity brokerage and advisory group. Lawrence has considerable experience in international cotton trading having served as president of the Liverpool Cotton Association in 1976 and the American Cotton Shippers Association in 1991/2. He also served as Chairman of the Committee for International Cooperation between Cotton Associations (C.I.C.C.A) from 1978 to1980. He was appointed to the board on 1 October, 2000.

Bekithemba Nkomo
Themba joined the Cottco board on 1 December 2002. He is a prominent Bulawayo businessman and founding director of Gaskets and Cuttings International Private Limited (GCI), the successor to Payen Zimbabwe, which he bought in 1999. Themba sits on the regional board of Trust Bank Corporation and is a director of Willsgrove Ware Pottery and Rubber Products Manufacturers. He sits on various committees of the Employers Association at national and regional level and is a member of the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of Zimbabwe (ACMAZ). He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from the University of Zimbabwe.