Cell C CEO Douglas Stevenson quits for personal reasons

Cell C’s CEO, Douglas Stevenson, has resigned.

Cell C’s CEO, Douglas Stevenson, has resigned.

Published Mar 23, 2023

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Cell C’s CEO, Douglas Stevenson, has resigned after a stressful five-year leadership tenure to put the debt-laden telecom operator, the fourth largest in South Africa, back on a firmer footing.

Stevenson will step down as CEO effective March 31, 2023.

JSE-listed Blue Label, the telecom operator’s major shareholder with a 49.5% stake following the mobile operator’s recent recapitalisation, said on Thursday that Stevenson had quit “for personal reasons and to pursue other opportunities in line with his personal career goals”.

Blue Label’s shares were 2.38% lower at R4.10 after the announcement. Year to date the shares are nearly 14% lower.

In September 2022, Cell C announced that it had concluded its debt recapitalisation, which amounted to R73.3 billion. At the time, Blue Label said that from its perspective the recapitalisation of Cell C, together with the benefits to be derived from Cell C’s turnaround strategy and its sustainability, would enhance the value of its investment therein and restore its shareholder value.

Douglas joined Cell C in October 2017 as chief operating officer and was appointed as interim CEO in March 2019, taking over from Cell C CEO of six years Jose Dos Santos. In August 2019 he took the CEO role.

Joe Mthimunye, the chairperson of the Cell C board, said, “We thank Douglas for his valued contribution and for successfully assisting in navigating Cell C through the recapitalisation process. Through the implementation of Cell C’s new strategy, he has directed the company, in conjunction with his management team, to improved financial stability, enhanced operational performance and established a path to sustainability. We wish Douglas well in his future endeavours.”

Brett Copans has been appointed to lead the company as interim CEO and was appointed to the board with immediate effect.

Copans joined Cell C in April 2022 and was primarily responsible for ensuring the successful conclusion of the recapitalisation transaction.

He was subsequently appointed as chief restructuring officer. Before joining Cell C, Copans spent 18 years at Investec Bank and then founded Pentrich Financial Services, a specialist financial services business providing capital raising, advisory and management services to companies.

The board of Cell C said it would initiate a process to appoint a permanent CEO.

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