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More board members for Telkom

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 13 Dec 2012

JSE-listed Telkom has appointed five business leaders as independent non-executive members of its board.

The new board members are Susan Botha, Clive Fynn, Khanyisile Kweyama, Fagmeedah Petersen and Louis von Zeuner.

Telkom now has a board of 14 members, enabling it to fill vacancies on board committees and to focus on the recruitment of a new CEO. Its current head, Nombulelo "Pinky" Moholi, has resigned, but is continuing to serve the company during her notice period.

The company recently lost several directors, including former chairman Lazarus Zim, Moholi and several non-executive directors after the Department of Communications voted against their re-election. It then filled enough seats to be able to select a new chairman.

Good news

Chairman Jabu Mabuza said: "It is heartening for me that people of this stature and calibre are able to give of their experience to the company, to return it to its glory days of delivering superior service to its customers.

"The latest appointments join our other recent board recruits, Leslie Maasdorp and Kholeka Mzondeki, and together they form a considerable resource for executive management," continued Mabuza.

He said Telkom appreciated that the new board members had demonstrated their commitment to contribute towards the development of Telkom as a company that is critical to the future of SA's economy.

"In addition, the recent meeting between the minister of communications and the board demonstrated that there is a fresh, shared, understanding emerging of the policy requirements of government and the business imperatives for Telkom.

"It is encouraging that in just a few weeks we have made significant strides in addressing the issues of leadership and government's relationship with Telkom.

"This path to full restoration of all governance structures will be followed with the appointment of a new group chief executive officer. This will place Telkom firmly on track to deliver the dual challenges of maintaining and growing shareholder value and contributing towards national economic and social development," said Mabuza.

Profiles of Telkom's new board members:

Susan Botha has a Bachelor of Economics Honours from the University of Stellenbosch. She is chancellor of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, and was previously an executive director of MTN and Absa Bank. Botha is currently chairperson of Curro Holdings. Other board memberships include Tiger Brands, Imperial Holdings and Famous Brands.

Clive Fynn has a PhD (Entrepreneurship) from the University of Pretoria and a Masters degree in Business Management from the University of Sheffield, in the UK. He is MD and senior VP of Global Alliances, an IT forensic practitioner and an honorary professor and PhD and Masters' External Examiner to international and ICT schools. Fynn was previously MD and chairman of Cisco Systems Capital (SA) and an executive director of Siemens Business Services. He is a board member of several South African industrial companies and plays an active role in various ICT policy committees.

Khanyisile Kweyama obtained a Masters degree in Management from the University of Witwatersrand. She is currently head of Anglo American Southern Africa and previously executive head of human resources at Anglo American Platinum and group executive of global human resources at Barloworld. Kweyama is VP of the Chamber of Mines and a director of Anglo Platinum Management Services, Rustenburg Platinum Mines, Sovereign Foods and the Walter Sisulu University Board.

Fagmeedah Petersen has a Bachelor of Business Science (Actuarial Science) from the University of Cape Town and is a fellow of the Actuarial Society of SA. She is an investment expert trustee of the Government Employee Pension Fund and acting chief investment officer of the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund. Petersen was previously a specialist trustee of Lifestyle Retirement Annuity and Preserver suite of funds. She was also principal consultant and valuator at Alexander Forbes Financial Services and Sanlam Employee Benefits.

Louis von Zeuner obtained a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Stellenbosch and holds several international qualifications. Until recently he was deputy group CEO of Absa Bank. Von Zeuner worked in Absa's retail and commercial banking operations from 1981, where he held various branch, regional and provincial leadership positions. He was appointed operating executive of Absa Commercial Bank in 2000, following which he was appointed as an executive director of Absa Group in 2004. He remains on Absa's board.

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