Vodafone Fiji board has appointed director Kalpana Lal as the new chairwoman with immediate effect after the resignation of Ajith Kodagoda.
This was confirmed by the ATH Group in a market announcement through the South Pacific Exchange (SPX) which highlighted her capabilities through their roles in other organisations.
Ms Lal was the head of unit, administration and finance at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Pacific operations and a fellow of CPA Australia, holding a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of the South Pacific in Accounting, Financial Management and information systems and having completed Fiji Directors course with AICD.
ATH stated she was a chartered accountant (CA) with the Fiji Institute of Accountants and had 16 years of experience in executive management roles covering disciplines of accounting, auditing, financial management, human resources and corporate governance.
“Ms Lal is director on several other boards which include the Fiji National Provident Fund, Fiji Development Bank, Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Ltd, Fijian Holdings Ltd, Pacific Governance Institute and Women in Business Fiji.
“She is also the chair of the board audit and risk committee of FNPF.
“Ms Lal is professional member of CPA Australia, Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fiji Institute of Accountants, Member of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and Member of Chartered Management Institute.”
The new chairwoman was a trailblazer as she was the first female to have been awarded the Chartered Accountant of the Year by Fiji Institute of Accountants at their Annual Congress in April 2017.
The statement said Ms Lal was also awarded Excellence in Executive Leadership by Women in Business in 2019 and recognised by Rotary International as a Paul Harris Fellow for her contribution to the local community in Fiji.
