Johannesburg - Naspers’ pay-TV Chief Executive Officer, Eben Greyling, will “take a break and pursue new interests,” Africa’s largest media company said in a statement late yesterday.
“Under his leadership over the last five years the subscriber base and turnover of the pay-TV businesses more than doubled,” Koos Bekker, who steps down as Naspers chief executive today, said in the statement.
Greyling, who joined Naspers in 1996, will be replaced by Jim Volkwyn, who was the previous leader of the Cape Town-based company’s pay-TV division before taking early retirement.
Greyling will be available “on an ad-hoc basis to provide assistance if required,” according to the statement.
Greyling’s decision is the latest management change at Naspers, the world’s largest emerging-markets media company.
In February, billionaire Bekker said he would step down as chief executive to spend a year travelling and seeking future growth opportunities.
Bob Van Dijk, formerly head of e-commerce, succeeds Bekker as chief executive today.
In the six months to September 30, subscribers to the group’s pay-TV service in Africa increased by 560,000 to 7.3 million across 48 countries, the company said in November. - Bloomberg News