Ohlthaver & List Group (OL) has unveiled a new corporate identity as the company pushes ahead with an ambitious transformation strategy targeting N$2.5 billion in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by 2029.
The rebrand, one of the biggest changes in the group’s more than 100-year history, introduces a unified “One OL” identity aimed at bringing the company’s operations under a single culture and corporate structure.
Speaking at the launch, OL Executive Chairman Sven Thieme said the rebrand follows years of internal restructuring and repositioning across the group.
“The identity reset follows several years of deliberate internal transformation, built on the core characteristics of our OL Persona – Authentic, Caring and Passionate – which guide the way the organisation shows up in every interaction, every decision and every experience it creates for its people, its customers and its communities,” Thieme said.
“We have strengthened our leadership, deepened our organisational culture and repositioned our operating companies for the next chapter, building towards our world-class ambitions with discipline, courage and care.”
The company said the new identity forms part of its Vision 2029 strategy, which targets industry-standard returns across all operating companies while positioning OL among the world’s top 10 best workplaces.
Thieme said companies that fail to adapt risk becoming irrelevant.
“Standing still was the riskiest move any leader could make as business history was full of organisations that refined what worked and, slowly, became irrelevant. We have chosen a different path. Over the past few years, we have moved, transformed and reinvented. And tonight, we are aligning the outside with the inside,” he said.
As part of the rebrand, OL has removed the ampersand historically associated with the Ohlthaver & List name and replaced it with a single integrated OL logo.
The redesign also introduces a new colour palette and typography while retaining “Est. 1919” as a reference to the company’s founders Herman Ohlthaver, Carl List and Werner List.
The group also announced the renaming of its headquarters in Windhoek’s central business district to OL Haus.
“Our pioneers gave us the foundation. What we build on it is our responsibility and our honour,” Thieme said.
“We are an organisation that strives to be world-class while staying true to our heritage and authentically Namibian. I have never been more excited about what comes next. One OL. One Persona. One Future.”
Founded in 1919, OL is one of Namibia’s largest privately held companies, with operations spanning fishing, aquaculture, retail, hospitality, property, renewable energy, engineering, information technology and marketing services.
