Jeffrey Hedberg takes over Telkom SA as CEO
… as Vincent Raseroka is acting CEO, Multi-Links Telkom

Barely five months into office as substantive CEO of Multi-Links Telkom, Jeffrey Hedberg has been pulled away from Nigeria and handed the more herculean and highly taxing job as Group Chief Executive Officer of Telkom South Africa, the parent company of Multi-Links Telkom.

And, following the appointment of Hedberg, as acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Telkom, Vincent Raseroka, has been appointed acting CEO of Multi-Links Telkom. Raseroka was until the recent appointment, the Chief Operating Officer (Multi-Links Telkom. He was said to have had a robust working relationship with Jeffrey culminating in a seamless transition at Multi-Links Telkom.
A statement issued by Multi-Links Telkom and signed by Mrs. Ijeoma Abazie, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, said prior to his joining Multi-Links Telkom, Vincent had served as the Managing Director of Cell C Service Provider Company from 2003 to 2005 from where he was engaged as the President, Chairman of Peters Papers before his latest appointment with Multi-Links Telkom.
Vincent has had a varied and exciting work experience working at different levels of engagements with blue chip organizations including Shell Oil Company, South African Breweries, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Nampak and South African Airways - Cargo where he was Managing Director/Cargo and CEO South African Airways Technical.
The new Acting CEO has an excellent educational background having studied in the USA. While studying to obtain his BA (Hons) Cum Laude in Admin. Economics at Fisk University, Nashville, USA from 1982 – 1984, he was nominated to “Who is Who” among students in the USA.
He is a native of South Africa and he is married with two children.
Jeffrey Hedberg, a turnaround specialist who previously headed Germany's Deutsche Telekom, will take over from Reuben September, who stepped down this month and will stay on in a consulting role until November 1.
Hedberg, an American, was brought into Telkom to fix its ailing Nigerian phone unit, Multi-Links, after he helped right Cell C, South Africa's smallest mobile phone operator.
Hedberg's appointment could mean that Telkom is beginning to see a recovery at Multi-Links or has decided to cut its losses and sell the unit, some analysts said.
"Either they are confident Multi-Links is doing a lot better than they expected, or he has done his job there," said Mark Ansley, a fund manager and telecoms analyst at Cadiz African Harvest.

Difficult Decision

Telkom's chief financial officer, Peter Nelson, told Reuters last month it was a difficult decision whether to continue funding Multi-Links, which cannot raise bank funding on its own. It wrote down the value of the unit by 5.2 billion rand in the financial year to the end of March.


"It makes sense possibly to sell parts of the operation but I wouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater," said Dobek Pater, telecoms analyst at Africa Analysis.

The company however pointed out that it was looking for a permanent replacement.
Hedberg is unlikely to be appointed as permanent chief executive because the government, the company's largest shareholder, will want a South African, said David Lerche, an analyst at Avior Research.

September, who had led the company since 2007, last year sold off Telkom's stake in mobile phone operator Vodacom, its main profit driver, and then announced a six billion rand plan to push Telkom into South Africa's overcrowded mobile market.

Telkom shares, which have fallen 40 percent since September took over as CEO three years ago, were down 0.21 percent at 37.58 rand, lagging a 0.31 percent rise on South Africa's All-Share index.