Ian Russell will join Telkom in February as its chief procurement officer, taking the company a step closer to wrapping up the renewal of its leadership team.
Russell's appointment follows Telkom's hires of Len De Villiers, as the new CIO, and former Vodacom executive Enzo Scarcella, as its chief marketing officer. It is still recruiting a CTO and says "an announcement in this regard will be made at an appropriate time".
Group CEO Sipho Maseko says: "This appointment takes us a step closer to completing the renewal of the top leadership team. Ian's arrival will further bolster a capable and dedicated team that's in place to drive Telkom's transformation."
Maseko is confident Russell's experience will help Telkom drive cost transformation as it rebases third-party spend "through consolidation and disciplined vendor control and management".
"Ian will be tasked with the development of more efficient supply chain options that enable us to relentlessly drive down our costs.
"In addition, he will further drive Telkom's property portfolio optimisation by freeing up some of the capital and reining in the maintenance costs of these assets."
Telkom, which recently trimmed its workforce by about 1 500, is pulling more costs out of its base. Maseko has said it is cutting expenses internally and will also put pressure on its supplier base to "eat" into inflation and provide discounts.
Maseko said if Telkom does not cut more out of its cost base, it is in "deep trouble" as its revenue growth is flat.
Russell holds a BSc (Hons) in economics and an MBA in strategic procurement. He is currently the outgoing head of procurement for Johannesburg-based South African Breweries. He has also worked with Absa.
"I am hugely excited by the opportunity to become part of Telkom's turnaround journey, and am looking forward to driving procurement best practice across Telkom's supply chain to drive lower operating costs and improved margins," says Russell.
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