Telkom's incoming CEO, Nombulelo “Pinky” Moholi will focus on delivering the telco's growth strategy, in a bid to transform it into a fully converged player in the rapidly changing sector.
Moholi is set to take over from acting CEO Jeffrey Hedberg next month. Hedberg said earlier this year that he would not renew his contract when it ran out at the end of the month. Telkom announced Moholi's appointment this morning.
Analysts this morning noted that Moholi faces several challenges, including slowing revenue, government interference, erosion of its fixed-line base, and an inability to succeed on the African continent.
However, Moholi says there won't be a knee-jerk change in strategy, and she will focus on implementing the strategy the board devised while under Hedberg's leadership. “The issue is not about a change in strategy, it's about execution,” she told ITWeb.
Hedberg's strategy to turn Telkom around included improving leadership and organisation, increasing operating profit, and launching 8ta as the company's mobile arm. Broadband was also a key element of his strategy.
Leadership issues
Telkom also faces the challenge of getting its African operations right, which Moholi says is a major priority. Last year, Hedberg said Telkom would exit the ailing business and focus on stabilising the South African operations before embarking on new investment opportunities across Africa.
The sale of Multi-Links' CDMA operation is at an “advanced” stage, Moholi says, and the company hopes to have wrapped up the process by the end of this quarter.
Multi-Links has been a thorn in Telkom's side ever since the company initially invested in Nigeria, in 2007. The fixed-line operator has written the unit down by more than R5.6 billion since entering the West African country.
Telkom bought 75% of the company in May 2007, for R1.96 billion. In January 2009, it bought out the balance of Multi-Links, investing a further R1.224 billion in the company. Moholi says Telkom is evaluating bids for the Nigerian operation, but could not disclose how many companies had put in offers due to the sensitive stage of the transaction.
Among her other priorities are growing the business, pushing broadband rollout, and renewing the network infrastructure. The company will also move strongly into converged services. Moholi says, 10 years from now, Telkom will no longer be just a fixed-line player.
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