Namibian company Paratus Telecom has announced the appointment of Stefan de Bruin as chief financial officer (CFO) for the group.
According to the group, his appointment was made in a bid to help grow the business across the continent.
"De Bruin will be responsible for the overall financial affairs of the group that is already represented in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Angola. He will, inter alia, focus on the financial evaluation of new telecom infrastructure projects in Africa and the formulation of the funding methodology for these projects," said the company.
Earlier in his career, De Bruin was a senior manager for tax and legal services at PricewaterhouseCoopers and financial director at Siemens Namibia. Currently he is a non-executive board member of the Old Mutual Orion Namibia Pension and Provident Fund, and more recently held the CFO and later the CEO position at Oryx Properties.
During his five-year tenure as CEO of Oryx Properties, De Bruin grew the property portfolio by 255% from N$900 million to N$2.3 billion, mainly through new acquisitions and developments. During this same period, the linked unit price increased by 220% and investors enjoyed an average total return of 25% per annum.
De Bruin says he is excited to be part of Paratus, "There is a significant demand for information and communication technology in Africa and I believe that Paratus Telecom's track record in this sector together with its current exposure in Africa provides a solid foundation for its Africa strategy."
Earlier this month the group appointed Colwyn van Rensburg as its new chief commercial officer as part of its commitment to capture the African market. Speaking on the appointment at the time, Paratus Telecom CEO Barney Harmse said: "He has the vision to take Paratus Telecom to a new level. He has vast experience, having established Paratus Telecom in Zambia whilst also overseeing the implementation and stabilisation of the Voice Platform at Paratus Telecom Namibia."
The group's turnover for 2016 was R1 billion, which it has indicated it plans grow to R1.2 billion for year ending February 2017. Furthermore it has earmarked an estimated R1.4 billion (US $110 million) budget for Africa over the next five years.
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