Telkom Group announces that Althon Beukes, CEO of Openserve, will be stepping down after 30 years with the company, including four years at the helm of Telkom’s wholesale business, Openserve.

Over the past two years, the organisation has embarked on a transformative journey towards becoming OneTelkom, based on a data-led strategy to enhance and strengthen the business.

Beukes played a pivotal role in successfully aligning and integrating Openserve into Telkom’s ambitious vision to become a leading infrastructure company, positioning Telkom as the backbone of the nation’s digital future. Telkom Group’s recent strong financial results are testament to the success of executing this strategy.

On his decision to step down, Beukes reflected: “After many successful years at Telkom, I believe it’s the right time to seek new career challenges and allow fresh leadership to guide Openserve into the future under OneTelkom. I leave behind a strong and capable leadership team, fully committed to driving the continued success of this business in the new strategic trajectory of Telkom’s future.”

“We deeply appreciate Althon Beukes’ leadership and dedication over the years. His vision and commitment have set Openserve up for continued success. We thank him for his service to Telkom and our nation and wish him all the best in his next chapter” said Telkom Group CEO, Serame Taukobong. “Althon is bound to be successful in whatever he does, and we will be there to applaud him in his next endeavour” said Taukobong.

Telkom Group is committed to advancing its mission of seamlessly connecting South Africans to a better life. The appointment of a new CEO of Openserve will be finalised upon completion of a formal recruitment process. Meanwhile, we are fortunate to have someone of the calibre of Selby Khuzwayo acting as Interim CEO of Openserve. Selby has been with Telkom for 34 years and is currently the Chief Regional Officer for the North Zone which includes Gauteng, Limpopo, North-West and Mpumalanga. Selby is a seasoned professional responsible for Build and Maintenance Operations of physical infrastructure with vast experience in operations management and tactical planning and over 18 years’ experience at Executive level.

• Mobile service revenue growth of 10.0%
• Fibre data revenue increase of 15.5%
• Sustained positive free cash flow of R768 million
• Mobile subscriber base exceeding 22.7 million
• Market-leading fibre connectivity rate of 49.7%

“The strong performance of our core business, coupled with strategic initiatives like the Swiftnet transaction, demonstrates that our strategy is delivering the promised results to the market,” said Taukobong.

“We are creating a focused and agile Telkom that can invest in growth areas while maintaining our position as South Africa's leading telecommunications infrastructure provider.”

The transaction is expected to close once all remaining administrative conditions are fulfilled.