Telkom, South Africa's third-largest mobile operator, has appointed former Industrial Development Corporation CEO Mvuleni Geoffrey Qhena as its new board chair with effect from 1 April.
Telkom had announced in November that current board chair Sello Moloko would step down by no later than the end of March.
Qhena had served as CEO of the IDC for over 13 years, stepping down at the end of 2018. Then Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said at the time that amid a focus on development of black industrialist and youth entrepreneurs, Qhena had left the development finance institution in "sound financial health".
Qhena had grown the IDC’s asset base from R31 billion in 2004 to R137 billion in 2018, Telkom said in its statement. He currently serves on the boards of Investec Bank Limited and Exxaro Resources as a nonexecutive director and as chairperson respectively. Qhena had also briefly served as interim chair at SAA.
He holds an honours degree in accounting science and is accredited as a chartered accountant.