Vehaka M. Tjimune has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Livestock and Livestock Products Board of Namibia (LLPB) on a five-year term, bringing more than three decades of experience across government, the livestock industry, farmer organisations, agribusiness and international development.
Tjimune succeeds long-serving CEO Paul Strydom, who retired at the age of 65 after more than 30 years of service to the board.
Following Strydom’s retirement on 30 November 2025, Goliath Tujendapi served as Acting Chief Executive Officer from 1 December 2025 to ensure continuity during the leadership transition.
Tjimune joins the LLPB from the German development agency GIZ, where he has served as Senior Policy Advisor for Agriculture and Land since 2018, supporting agricultural policy reform, climate resilience and sector transformation.
Most recently, he played a key role in developing Namibia’s Strategy for the Transformation of the Agri-food Sector, launched in November 2024, and is currently supporting the review of the country’s Drought Management Policy and Strategy.
His career spans more than 37 years, during which he has held senior leadership positions at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), Meatco and GIZ, giving him extensive experience across Namibia’s livestock and meat value chain, stakeholder engagement and agricultural policy.
Before joining GIZ, Tjimune spent a decade at Meatco, where he served as Executive for Stakeholder Relations and Corporate Affairs after leading the Livestock Procurement and Producer Services Division.
During his tenure, he was twice appointed understudy to the Meatco Chief Executive Officer between 2012 and 2017 and was recognised as Meatco’s Best Performing Executive in 2014. In 2016, he received special recognition after helping position Meatco as Namibia’s second-best corporate communicator in a NaMedia survey.
Earlier in his career, he served as Executive Director of the Namibia National Farmers Union, where he led donor-funded agricultural development programmes and worked closely with commercial and communal farmers across the country. He also spent seven years at the Ministry of Agriculture in various leadership positions.
Beyond executive management, Tjimune has extensive governance experience. He served on the Agribank board from 2004 to 2012, including on the Risk and Compliance Committee and the Human Resources Committee, and chaired the Agricultural Trade Forum while also serving on the National Trade Forum.
Academically, Tjimune holds a Master of Arts in Rural Social Development and a Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Social Development from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, as well as a National Diploma in Agriculture from Tsumis Agricultural College.
He has also completed executive training in corporate governance, project management, moderation and performance management.
His appointment comes at a critical time for Namibia’s livestock industry as the sector seeks to rebuild cattle numbers following years of drought, strengthen export markets and increase value addition across the livestock value chain.
With experience spanning agricultural policy, producer relations, corporate strategy and stakeholder engagement, Tjimune is expected to lead the LLPB through the next phase of the sector’s development.
