Mechell will be regional head of human resources Africa for Ocean & Logistics at A.P. Moller – Maersk.
After 23 years at Unilever, Mechell Chetty, currently VP HR Africa, will be leaving to take up a new appointment externally. Mechell will be joining Maersk, the largest international shipping company as head of HR for Africa effective 1 October 2021.
Mechell says she is thrilled to be joining such a credible organisation that “sees the opportunity to re-invent itself digitally whilst maintaining its core values. I am also excited about learning in an entirely new industry than my experience presents and working collaboratively with the great leaders at Maersk.”
During her time at Unilever, Mechell made it a personal mission to develop a strategic talent agenda for Africa. Under her leadership 82 percent of all MCO leadership team members were African and 50.6 percent of all managers across the continent were female. She also led the internationalisation of African talent and in the last five years more than 400 people gained career experiences across the globe.
Mechell’s other passion is tackling youth unemployment and she was the key driver behind the LevelUp programme, which assisted thousands of young people with skills building, reverse mentoring and volunteering.
She’s looking forward to bringing this commitment to uplifting others to her new role and says, “I hope to continue my passion for diversity and inclusion and building African leaders for the future and also shape the future of work to enhance the employee experience and enable further success for the organisation.”
Mechell’s focus on racial equity and gender diversity has been commendable with the Africa team winning the coveted Top Employer Africa award four times over and the Most Gender Empowered Organisation in South Africa in 2021 under her leadership.
Jaime Aguilera, executive vice president Unilever Africa said, “We would like to thank Mechell for her passionate and purposeful leadership throughout her time with Unilever and wish her well in the next stage of her career journey. We know she will continue her passion for Africa and its remarkable talent.”
