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Saul Saltzman, the son of Dis-Chem co-founders Ivan and Lynette, has resigned as a nonexecutive director of the beauty and pharmaceutical retailer, ending his tenure of almost a decade on the board.Saltzman served as a director since the family took the company public in 2016 and spent his entire retail career of nearly 25 years at Dis-Chem, where he played a central role in driving the group’s imports and successful private-label strategy. His resignation, which came into effect on Friday, follows his earlier transition from executive to nonexecutive director in February. “The board extends its sincere appreciation to Saul for his invaluable contribution, commitment and dedicated service to the company over many years and wishes him every success in his future endeavours,” the group said.(Dorothy Kgosi) His departure forms part of a broader generational handover at Dis-Chem. Ivan Saltzman stepped down as CEO in June 2023 after 45 years in the role, with then-CFO Rui Morais succeeding him. He officially retired from his executive position and as board chair on June 30, marking the end of his day-to-day operational involvement.Lynette Saltzman moved from an executive role to focus on operational leadership in the group’s beauty category in 2022.Ownership of the company has transitioned alongside the leadership changes. In June last year, Saul’s brothers, Mark and Dan, who had not previously held executive positions or board seats, each received a 12.5% stake in Dis-Chem as part of a restructuring. The family’s investment vehicle, Ivlyn, was reduced from a 29% shareholding to about 4% as a result. The Saltzman family had already reduced its overall shareholding from more than 50% to 31% through a series of transactions in 2021.The changes have coincided with several share sales by family members and executives. Saul sold shares worth more than R120m in 2024, while fellow executive director Stan Goetsch parted with R300m worth in the same year. Mark and Dan each sold shares worth about R321m in 2025 while retaining stakes valued in the billions of rand.Dis-Chem distributes pharmaceutical, personal care, beauty, nutrition, baby care, grocery and household products through its retail and wholesale operations. Since listing, the company has gained about 50% in value, according to Iress data, taking its market capitalisation to R27.7bn.Since taking over as CEO, Morais has aggressively overhauled the business, transitioning it from a traditional founder-led retail pharmacy into an integrated, professionally managed healthcare ecosystem. Group revenue rose 9.3% in the year to end-February, driven by new store openings, market share gains and increased customer engagement through its Better Rewards programme. The retailer also benefited from strong demand in its pharmacy business, particularly for GLP-1 type 2 diabetes and weight management medicines, while maintaining a stable margin through a better product mix and improved supplier terms.Profitability was weighed down by strategic investment in the group’s digital and ecosystem initiatives, as well as other one-off costs, resulting in lower reported earnings for the year. However, underlying profit growth was supported by higher sales, improved cost discipline and positive operating leverage. Cash generation improved, working capital management strengthened and the group ended the year with a solid balance sheet as it continued to expand.
