Joanne Bate
Former Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) COO Joanne Bate, who departed the development financier at the end of January, expects to continue to play some role in South Africa’s green energy transition but has not yet taken up any specific new position.
Having worked for the IDC in the late 1990s, Bate rejoined the State-owned entity on a five-year contract in February 2020, following a period in the commercial banking sector that included stints with HSBC and Barclays/Absa.
Her tenure as COO coincided with a period of economic turbulence for the IDC, which was affected not only by the Covid-19 shock, but also the July 2021 riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng and the devastating KwaZulu-Natal floods of 2022.
The organisation has since recovered, reporting a R40-billion growth in total assets at the end of its last financial year.
Bate describes her and the IDC’s role in the advancement of South Africa's green hydrogen and just energy transition strategies over the past five years as standout achievements.
She highlights in particular Cabinet’s approval in 2023 of the Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy, as well as the Just Energy Transition Investment and Implementation Plans, which were approved by Cabinet in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
While stressing that she had made no decisions about her future plans, Bate said she was “highly likely to remain in the green hydrogen, green industrialisation, or transition space”.
The IDC has advertised for a new COO and has appointed David Jarvis as acting COO. 