JOHANNESBURG - The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board has announced the appointment of Madoda Mxakwe as group chief executive officer (GCEO) and Yolande van Biljon as chief financial officer (CFO).
The appointment of the GCEO is effective from July 1 and the CFO’s appointment is effective from Monday, June 25, SABC board chairman Bongumusa Makhathini said on Sunday.
Mxakwe "brings to the SABC a wealth of broad combination of great skills and expertise derived from senior executive positions" in business, communications, and public affairs in both the private and public sectors at a national and global level, he said.
Mxakwe had the "required business acumen, experience, and decisive leadership skills in business turnarounds and transformation".
He obtained an MA (global political economy) from Sussex University in the UK, executive leadership developments certificates from London Business School, PGD in business administration from Gordon Institute of Business School (GIBS), among many other qualifications.
He had worked for Nestle serving in different senior capacities, the last one being the country head responsible for Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Lesotho, Makhathini said.
"Yolande van Biljon comes with a lot of experience gained from various organisations, including Denel Dynamics, a division of Denel SOC Ltd as manager for finance accounting and later appointed as the CFO.
"She has made a meaningful contribution during her tenure at Denel Dynamics where she participated in the turnaround of the organisation. She also has worked at Glad Africa Group (Pty). She holds a B Com (accounting), B Compt (Hons), B Comm (Hons), and M Comm (taxation). She has also qualified as a chartered accountant in 1996," he said.
“These appointments affirm our commitment to attract and retain the best skills to take the SABC to greater heights, particularly to address the evolving broadcasting environment enabled by technology and the changing media consumer patterns.
"We are proud to say that these appointments reflect diversity in relation to skills, age, gender, and race. On behalf of the board, management, and staff I would also like to extend my gratitude to Ms Nomsa Philiso and Ms Thabile Dlamini who have held the fort until the finalisation of these appointments,” Makhathini said.
The board believed that these two appointments would strengthen the broadcaster’s position as a credible and reliable public service content provider.
As part of the continuous efforts to bring stability, the SABC was in the process of finalising other group executive appointments to achieve sound governance in all the SABC’s business units. The organisation had recently filled the positions of the COO, head of internal audit, and group executive: human resources and group executive: news and current affairs.
The SABC remained committed to delivering compelling content that was relevant and accessible by all, Makhathini said.