Naspers Video Entertainment announced a MultiChoice top executives shake-up on late Thursday afternoon with Calvo Mawela as new MultiChoice South Africa CEO, M-Net CEO Yolisa Phahle in a newly-created position as "CEO of general entertainment" and Fahmeeda Cassim Surtee upped as new DStv Media Sales South Africa CEO.
All the appointments and executive position changes are effective immediately.
Firstly Calvo Mawela is taking over as MultiChoice South Africa CEO from the accomplished Mark Rayner who goes back to being MultiChoice South Africa chief operating officer (COO), a position he served in previously.
Naspers says Calvo Mawela will be responsible for
MultiChoice South Africa and DStv Media Sales in South Africa, and will focus on "strategic developments in the pay-TV industry".
Calvo Mawela - not that well known in South Africa's broadcasting industry as Mark Rayner and Yolisa Phahle - was in charge of regulatory affairs and policy for Naspers Video Entertainment and began his career at signal distributor Sentech.
Mark Rayner returns to the position of MultiChoice SA COO, a position he held before moving to the CEO position. Naspers says he will focus on "ensuring product and
operational excellence that will give DStv customers the best entertainment
experience".
In an odd move, Yolisa Phahle, accomplished as M-Net CEO, is now moved to a new title of "CEO of general entertainment". Naspers did't clarify what that means or what the job entails.
It's also not clear if M-Net will get a new CEO, whether the position is vacant, or getting shuttered,or what as "CEO of general entertainment" what exactly Yolisa Phahle will now be in charge of.
Naspers only says "in her new role, she will continue to ensure that our customers have access to world class local and international entertainment".
In another stratifying move, the accomplished Fahmeeda Cassim Surtee is promoted to the position of CEO of DStv Media Sales South Africa.
Chris Hitchings will however remain and continue as "overall" CEO of DStv Media Sales, according to Naspers.
Gideon Khobane will continue to head up the sport pay-TV division as SuperSport CEO.
"This is a strong leadership team who can to take us into
our next phase of growth," says Imtiaz Patel, Video Entertainment chief executive in the statement announcing the executive changes.
"While the pay television business faces technological shifts,
regulatory and competitor challenges, the core focus remains delivering the
best local and international content to our customers, anytime, anywhere on any
device."
"Calvo Mawela and Mark Rayner are an impressive team who will steer
MultiChoice South Africa into the future."
"Their combination of strategic and
operational skill and experience complement each other. Calvo Mawela is well-positioned
to drive strategy and growth in our South African operations. He has a rich and
varied experience in broadcasting and a proven track record in managing complex
issues in South Africa and the rest of the continent."
"Mark Rayner has proven himself to be able to get the
best out of the business operationally. His focus will be to deliver the best experience to customers in the best possible way, making sure
we achieve our business objectives, including financial and customer
satisfaction targets, and drive efficiencies."
