South Africa’s part state-owned operator Telkom has appointed Ouma Rasethaba as chief risk officer (CRO), completing the management restructuring which began at the company in June last year.
The appointment is effective immediately, with Rasethaba moving from her current position of chief of regulatory and corporate affairs to the new role.
“Ms Rasethaba has played a valuable role at Telkom over the years, first as Group Executive for Regulatory and Public Policy and later as Chief of Corporate Governance,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Sipho Maseko.
“Hers was not always an easy task, especially when one considers the complexity of the legal matters Telkom has had to deal with, as well as the fluidity of the regulatory environment.”
Rasethaba will be responsible for Telkom’s risk management process, including the identification, assessment and response to risks affecting the achievement of Telkom objectives.
The new CRO will also continue to lead the group legal services team, including implementing corporate governance principles.
“Ms Rasethaba and her team have always done a sterling job, and I know this will continue to be the case in her new role,” said Maseko.
HumanIPO reported last year Maseko – who was appointed in March 2013 – embarked on a full management shakeup, with the company struggling with weak financials.
New chief operating officer (COO) Brian Armstrong was appointed in March last year, followed by Miriam Altman as head of strategy in May. Len de Villiers became chief information officer (CIO) in November, while the appointments of Enzo Scarcella as chief marketing officer (CMO) and Ian Russell as chief procurement officer (CPO) were announced in November and December respectively, with the two taking up their positions in February this year.
The appointment of Alphonzo Samuels as chief technology officer (CTO) also came in February, with today’s announcement completing the executive reshuffle.
Telkom’s management has however come under scrutiny recently, as chief financial officer (CFO) Jacques Schindehutte was suspended in October amidst allegations of personal misconduct pending a disciplinary inquiry; while in November Telkom admitted a ZAR6 million (US$564,703) loan granted to Schindehutte by the company to enable him to buy Telkom shares was illegal, with the CFO required to repay the full loan amount.
In January Telkom confirmed it had received a letter from a group of employees, containing complaints regarding executive appointments and alleged misuse of company funds, though Telkom refused to comment given that the authors of the letter chose to remain anonymous.
Nonetheless, under Maseko Telkom in November reported a 41.1 per cent rise in profits in the six months to end September.
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