Spescom has recently appointed Thomas Makore as MD of Spescom Media IT. He replaces Sean du Toit, who will head up Spescom's office in Kampala, Uganda, as Group Executive Head: Africa.
Makore will continue as MD of the Spescom Telecommunications Divisions.
Says Jene Palmer, CEO of Spescom: "Makore was the ideal candidate to take over the reins from Du Toit as he has a solid track record within the group and understands the culture, corporate goals and objectives of the organisation. It also makes sense to bring the telecommunications and media businesses closer together as we are seeing the gap between telecommunications and broadcasting closing. Makore will leverage the synergies between the divisions to drive new areas of growth, such as broadcast transmission.
Makore will oversee continued growth of the Spescom Media IT business, providing leadership and strategic direction for the company. He will be responsible for exploiting opportunities that the market is presenting through new technologies, and will assist broadcasting organisations to migrate to new technologies and platforms in South Africa and Southern African Development Countries (SADC).
From a telecommunications perspective, Makore will continue to leverage the new licences that are in place and focus on developing business across the two divisions that he is responsible for in this sector, namely Spescom Telecommunications and NewTelco South Africa.
Adds Palmer: "Du Toit is a veteran in the broadcasting industry and his expertise will be leveraged to drive Spescom business as a whole into Africa.
Du Toit's appointment as Group Executive Head: Africa, provides him with the authority to conduct business in the region on behalf of the Spescom Group.
The group is establishing an office in Uganda, which will serve as a base to do business in the East African Community. This includes integrated business communication technologies, skills and services for contact centre environments; voice recording and workforce optimisation; turnkey broadcasting and telecommunications solutions.
Du Toit has a thorough understanding of the Spescom Group's business and will be responsible for growing Spescom's existing client base in Africa. A local office in Uganda will provide a closer geographic link to business in the East Africa region. However, Spescom is no newcomer to international business, as the organisation also has an office in the United Kingdom that services Europe and the Middle East. It therefore understands the value, processes, logistics and importance of relationships that are fostered through a local presence. A presence in Africa will facilitate in breaking down the barriers to entry into the region and allow the company to gather market intelligence 'at the coal face'.
Part of Spescom's delivery plan to East Africa includes the expansion of its partner network in the region that will fulfil components of the group's offering. This will stimulate local business for the region and will also
provide skills development as well as skills transfer opportunities.
Palmer concludes: "These new appointments and portfolios are providing the Spescom Group with more focus and direction on areas we wish to pursue as part of our strategic plan to grow the business. These two long-service senior executives will assist us to successfully achieve our goals and ensure 'fertile ground' is created for the opportunities these areas and regions present."
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