MTN CEO Phuthuma Nhleko is SA`s most powerful black director, followed by Telkom CEO Papi Molotsane.
Empowerdex, a black economic empowerment rating agency, says these two telecommunications leaders are the most powerful black directors in the country, based on the market capitalisation of their companies.
Its in-depth look at the "lives of SA`s most influential and powerful business leaders", Trailblazers, is due to be published at the end of October and will be available by Christmas, it says.
Datacentrix CEO Gary Morolo, running a company with a market capitalisation of R3.97 billion, ranked seventh on the top 10 most powerful black directors list.
The company, which ranked these business leaders against their white counterparts, also found that seven white-led companies came in as more powerful, with MTN in at number eight while Telkom is not in the top 10 list.
Most powerful
The most powerful CEO in the country is mining giant Anglo American`s CEO Tony Trahar, running a company with a market capitalisation of R485 billion, compared to MTN`s R104.5 billion and Telkom`s R72.6 billion.
Empowerdex executive director Chia-Chao Wu says the top five economic sectors in SA, including technology, account for more than three-quarters of all black directors on the JSE.
Manager of research and publications Sherilee Bridge points out that 11.2% - or 62 of all black directors - are directors in telecommunications and technology companies.
She says those sectors with charters, even if not gazetted, are more advanced in applying empowerment at board level. ICT, she says, was one of the first sectors to implement a charter and shows a high representation as a result.
However, when looking at Empowerdex`s top 30 empowered companies, Telkom ranks fifth in 2006, with a BEE score of 67.16%. Last year, it ranked first. On its heels is Mustek, up from 14 last year, with a BEE score of 66.84%.
GijimaAst`s first entrance on the list is at eighth, with 65.79%. At 10, up from 28 last year, is Bytes Technology Group, with 63.68%.
MTN makes its appearance at 15, an improvement from 26 last year, with 61.75%. Datacentrix falls nine places to 19 with 60.29% and Jasco comes in at 27, up from 31, with 53.72%.
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