Sven Thieme

Executive Chairman / MD O&L Leisure

   Chartered Accountant (Namibia / South Africa)

Appointment: 10 October 2001
Elected Chairman of the Board 17 April 2002

Thieme attended Deutsche Höhere Privatschule (DHPS) Windhoek and graduated with the German Abitur in 1987. He graduated as an auditor in 1991 at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He completed his articles at Deloitte & Touche in Cape Town.

Thieme started his career as an auditor for Deloitte & Touche in Luxemburg from 1994 to 1998. In 1998 he joined the O&L Group as General Manager and took over the reins as CEO in 2002 following the demise of his grandfather, Werner List who was also the son of O&L co-founder, Carl List. Thieme is the chairperson of several supervisory boards of the Group’s subsidiaries. He is considered one of the most influential Namibians and was instrumental with the establishment of the Development Bank of Namibia in 2004 while having presided as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL); the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI); the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC); and, the Windhoek Country Club Resort & Casino (WCCR) amongst others.

Thieme’s relentless pursuit to unlock Namibia’s business potential has been evident in his role as the architect behind various joint ventures entered into by O&L such as strategic deals between HEINEKEN South Africa, Diageo, and NBL, demonstrating his acumen in fostering valuable partnerships for the organisation.

Accolades:

  • International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) Top International Executive Chairman of the Year 2023.
  • Conferment of the Most Distinguished Order of Namibia: First Class upon Dr. Sven Thieme (Heroes’ Day 2014).

Related Executive Directors

Franziska Rueeck
Chief Experience Officer
Terence Makari
Chief Human Capital Officer
Theresa Weitz
Chief Financial Officer
Wynand Oosthuizen
Chief Operations Officer / Acting MD Namibia Dairies