Telkom's new executive structure continues to take shape, with the appointment of IT veteran Len de Villiers as chief information officer.
Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko welcomed de Villiers' appointment as CIO - which will be effective as of the beginning of next month - this morning.
The most recent appointment is in line with Telkom's newly designed leadership structure, which includes the introduction of chief operating officer Dr Brian Armstrong and head of strategy Dr Miriam Altman. Telkom says the positions of chief marketing officer and chief procurement officer have been introduced, but are yet to be appointed.
Maseko says he is confident Telkom will soon have a team in place that will be able to lead the company's turnaround, put it on firm footing to compete effectively in a demanding marketplace and reach its ultimate objective of restoring a leadership position in the telecommunications sector.
Noting the role of the IT factory in Telkom's mid- and long-term strategic plans, Maseko says: "As we continue to move forward with Telkom's transformation to improve our operational efficiencies, maximise the returns made possible by the evolution of our network and pursue the convergence agenda, we rely heavily on IT architecture and systems that are of a world class standard. At the same time we have to strengthen our focus on innovation and research and development."
Executive profile
De Villiers has 25 years' experience in the IT industry and has been deemed one of SA's top CIOs. In 2009 he was voted "the most admired CIO in SA" by the CIO Council of South Africa.
He began his career in 1978 in IT management positions at BP, Metro Cash and Carry and Gencor. In 1986 de Villiers joined First National Bank as GM of IT, after which he spent three years as MD of Microdata and as an executive director at Datakor Holdings.
In 2003 de Villiers was appointed MD of Nedbank's group operations, before being appointed MD of Nedbank's group technology and support services the following year. All in all, de Villiers spent 15 years with Nedbank.
He joined Absa Bank as group CIO in 2008. Here de Villiers was responsible for articulating the technology plans and initiatives necessary to create and support the underlying technology required for the bank's "One Absa" strategy. At the beginning of last year de Villiers joined Transaction as group CIO.
He was educated at Rand Afrikaans University, University of Witwatersrand, Insead (France) and Harvard (US).
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