Ascendis Health
Simbarashe Chipai's work experience includes roles at Ascendis Health and James & Kruger Inc.
At Ascendis Health, Chipai worked as a Finance Accounting Consultant from August 2019 to July 2020. They then transitioned to the role of Head Office Accountant in August 2020, with no specified end date.
Prior to Ascendis Health, Chipai was an Audit Senior at James & Kruger Inc. from January 2015 to July 2019. In this role, they were responsible for preparing audit budgets for clients, planning and supervising audits for small and medium clients, and formulating overall audit procedures in collaboration with the manager/partner.
Simbarashe Chipai has a diverse education history. In 2009, they attended Walter Sisulu University, where they obtained a Bachelor of Accounting Science degree. In 2013, they enrolled at the University of Johannesburg and received a Postgraduate Certificate in Theory of Accounting (Bridging). In 2016, Simbarashe attended the University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika, where they completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Accounting Sciences (CTA). In 2017 and 2018, they pursued further professional qualifications, participating in the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) and Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) Candidate programs at SAICA respectively.
Ascendis Health
Background Ascendis Health is a health and wellness company founded in 2008 and listed in the healthcare sector of the JSE in November 2013. In 2015, the Group embarked on an international growth strategy and acquired four businesses in Europe: Farmalider in Spain (2015), Remedica in Cyprus (2016), Scitec in Hungary (2016) and Sunwave Pharma in Romania (2017). Today Ascendis Health has a global reach with well-known brands and products sold to more than 120 countries across all continents. Strategic focus Against a backdrop of too much debt and limited operational flexibility we have set out a three-pillar strategy with the following focus areas: Pillar1: Stabilise (‘Fix the balance sheet’) • Set the medium-term portfolio strategy – which companies we should keep and which we should sell • Restructure existing debt to match the long-term portfolio strategy • Introduce sufficient new money to restore operational flexibility and ability to execute ‘Optimise’ Pillar Pillar 2: Optimise (‘Right-size and create platform businesses’) • Set the operating model to align with portfolio strategy and reduce complexity • Implement Project Office discipline to drive efficiencies, capital allocation optimization, and margin management strategies in each Business Unit • Create Business Unit specific incentivization programs and develop owner-manager mindsets Pillar 3: Grow (‘Maximise value and grow the platforms’) • Deleveraging strategy to take onto account the interim cash conversion profiles of the underlying business • Remain flexible to access attractive market windows • Deploy capital to underpin steady state portfolio