Former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko takes seat on Shoprite board

Former CEO of JSE-listed Telkom Sipho Maseko has been appointed to grocery retail giant Shoprite’s board as an independent non-executive director, the retailer confirmed on Wednesday.

Maseko, who was head of Telkom for nine years. was appointed alongside University of Limpopo academic Hlengani Mathebula.

The appointments took effect on Tuesday (27 June).

Bid for Telkom turned down

Maseko has been making headlines recently for leading a consortium of investors looking to acquire a controlling stake (35%) in Telkom, which is partly owned by the government.

Moneyweb in mid-June reported on the telecommunications company’s decision to decline Maseko’s bid, saying the consortium failed to convince the Telkom board of its financial muscle to pull off the transaction.

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The group of buyers in the proposed Telkom bid included Axian Telecom, the Public Investment Corporation and Maseko’s Afrifund Investments.

Experience

Both Maseko and Mathebula have extensive experience serving in executive and board positions.

Mathebula, currently a professor of Strategy, Finance and Investment at the University of Limpopo, is a founding member of the Black Business Council. He has also served as chair of the Eskom Pension Fund and as a board member of BMW SA.

Apart from his stint at Telkom, Maseko once occupied the chief operating officer position at Vodacom. He has also served as chair of South African Petroleum Refineries (Sapref) and is currently an advisory board member of the Centre for Development and Enterprise, Airlink as well as Heidrick & Struggles, according to Shoprite.

“The Board welcomes Hlengani and Sipho and looks forward to their valued contribution to the group,” the group said in a statement.