Telkom CFO Peter Nelson resigns

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Telkom CFO resigns

Telkom’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Nelson resigns only days after the company’s CEO Reuben September handed in his resignation
 
The resignations aren't necessarily out of their own will...
 
Stripe said:
The resignations aren't necessarily out of their own will...
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Problems at Board level? Both Reuben September and Peter Nelson were Board members....

Fall out with the chairman who wants to be CEO/CFO/COO, Jeff Molebela?
 
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
"the fish is rotting from the head down—all is not well at the top of the political hierarchy"
 
CEO roles get politicized, so if someone bails its not necessarily indicative of anything. CFOs on the other hand don't just bail unless something is wrong or a CEO post opened up somewhere.
 
HavocXphere said:
CEO roles get politicized, so if someone bails its not necessarily indicative of anything. CFOs on the other hand don't just bail unless something is wrong or a CEO post opened up somewhere.
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Unless the CFO is also a Board member and there are problems at that level.
 
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so whats really happening is the Rueben was extremely corrupt, from taking bribes to dipping his hand in the till.... and... of course... his CFO was the one covering up all the tracks. But now that September left in July... Peter is left with the hot tamalie... so he got out asap before the auditors came and locked him up for ten lifetimes.

howz that?
 
bleh69 said:
so whats really happening is the Rueben was extremely corrupt, from taking bribes to dipping his hand in the till.... and... of course... his CFO was the one covering up all the tracks. But now that September left in July... Peter is left with the hot tamalie... so he got out asap before the auditors came and locked him up for ten lifetimes.

howz that?
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Nah... how about falling on the sword because of Multilinks Nigeria and a R5,6bn loss?
 
Seems like a clear case of government interference. If this is the case it just further illustrates why government should not have a controlling interest in our only fixed line operator.
It looks like the Multi-Links debacle sealed not only September's fate, but anyone connected to his apparent privatisation agenda.


He says he doesn’t want to be drawn into commenting on battles between senior management and the board of directors. However, it’s become clear to Telkom watchers that chairman Molobela is proving to be a divisive force in the organisation.

The board elected not to renew September’s contract after he clashed with Molobela.

Telkom insiders say the chairman, who was appointed by government, has been behaving like an executive director, despite being a nonexecutive appointee. Under his chairmanship, senior Telkom insiders worry that the group may be sailing into a full-blown management crisis.

Senior sources say Molobela, who has previously declined requests from TechCentral to be interviewed about the allegations against him, regularly interferes in operational management issues despite this being outside of his mandate as a nonexecutive director.
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In a letter to the board last week, he accused board chairman Jeff Molobela, as representative of the government, Telkom's largest shareholder, of "interference" and wanting to "dispose" of him.

Mr September will step down in November when his contract expires after three years at the helm, leaving the fixed-line operator in a crucial period with its mobile business in its infancy.

This week the Department of Communications said it wanted Telkom to increase its empowerment stake to almost 30%, which is likely to be a complicated process after the exit of its existing empowerment partner, the controversial Elephant Consortium.

Mr Molobela last night would not comment on the claims made by Mr September.

He referred Business Day to an announcement on the Stock Exchange News Service to be issued this morning, and said Mr September would provide clarity on any matters.

It is understood that while Mr September had wanted to renew his contract, tension with the board and Mr Molobela had made this impossible.

Sources with knowledge of a mutual agreement between Mr September and the board providing for a "smooth exit", said last night the breakdown in the relationship between Mr September and Mr Molobela made it difficult for Mr September and his management team to carry out their duties due to "constant interference".
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n his first letter, dated last Thursday, Mr September alleges that:

* Mr Molobela "consistently undermined" him and acted as if he were leading the company, which was in fact the domain of the CEO. He did this from his "first day in office". Mr Molobela was appointed in November last year.

* Mr Molobela, representing the government as majority shareholder, neutralised Mr September's ability to manage effectively;

* Mr Molobela frequently transgressed the boundaries between roles of chairman and CEO, compromising independence, corporate governance rules and investor expectations.

* The board's performance was "suboptimal" and that the chairman should have addressed this instead of becoming involved in operational matters "beyond his purview".

* The involvment of Mr Molobela in management matters created confusion and was disruptive as he dealt directly with members of the management team on strategic and operational issues;

Mr Molobela, in light of the litany of complaints set out, was "looking for ways to dispose" of him without a challenge.
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DOOMIE61 said:
U mad they worse
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Really? I don't recall seeing too many board or executive level resignations at Neotel. They're now one of the few players in the South African market who are entirely private, with no government or political interference. They appear to be owned and run by businessmen (including some who run global companies), something completely alien to Telkom. If anything, the recent instability at Telkom almost certainly does play into the hands of their competitors. Corporate customers, in particular, like to see stability and direction, something that seems to have evaporated in Telkom of late.
 
ads said:
Really? I don't recall seeing too many board or executive level resignations at Neotel. They're now one of the few players in the South African market who are entirely private, with no government or political interference. They appear to be owned and run by businessmen (including some who run global companies), something completely alien to Telkom. If anything, the recent instability at Telkom almost certainly does play into the hands of their competitors. Corporate customers, in particular, like to see stability and direction, something that seems to have evaporated in Telkom of late.
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100% correct.

Government must get out of all Telco's!!!

Peter Nelson leaving is a direct result of the turmoil at Board level, caused chiefly by the government appointee, Jeff Molobela.

Note how many other non-executive Board members have left since he became chairman; must be a sign that he is either brilliant or a puppet. I suspect the latter.
 
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