Leadership shakeup at iOCO
iOCO interim CEO Marius de la Rey has resigned with immediate effect. Directors and shareholders Rhys Summerton and Dennis Venter have been appointed as joint CEOs and executive directors in his stead.
“Rhys will be directly focused on capital allocation decisions and group strategy, while Dennis will focus on revenue generation initiatives,” the company said in a notice to shareholders on Thursday afternoon.
“Both joint CEOs will work closely with existing group CFO and executive director Ashona Kooblall, and the existing management team of iOCO Limited.
De la Rey’s resignation is the latest departure in an executive exodus at iOCO (formerly EOH) over the past year.
iOCO has been in turmoil, losing its chief executive, chief financial officer, executive chairman, and many established board members.
De la Rey took over as interim CEO after former executive chairman and interim CEO Andrew Mthembu resigned at the end of May.
Mthembu’s resignation was the latest in a dramatic boardroom shakeup that became public knowledge on 10 May 2024 when EOH issued a cryptic cautionary announcement on the JSE News Service.
“Shareholders are advised that EOH has been approached by certain shareholders regarding the succession plan for the EOH Board. The EOH Board is engaging further with the shareholders,” it stated.
Summerton and Venter were two of the shareholders who stepped in last year when the company’s share price was in freefall.
In a letter to shareholders on Friday, Summerton said that when they joined iOCO’s board, they found a business with much potential, but without the necessary focus to deliver value for all stakeholders.
“From day one, we began to implement the following 3-phase strategy to place iOCO onto a sustainable path for the benefit of customers, employees and shareholders,” he said.
The three phases of their strategy are cost rationalisation, decentralisation, and resource allocation.
“We have worked closely with Marius and Ashona in implementing the cost rationalisation phase of the plan,” said Summerton.
“We thank Marius for his efforts in implementing this unpleasant — but necessary — process, and we wish him well in his future endeavours as he leaves the group this February.”
Summerton said the implementation of their plan was running ahead of expectations, as cost rationalisation initiatives have translated into meaningful operating performance improvement.
“This is good news for all those involved in iOCO. Our 4,000 customers can rely on iOCO to be a reliable and efficient partner,” he said.
“Our 4,500 employees can be assured that their hard work and loyalty to customers can now be rewarded, with a fit-for-purpose head office team, providing necessary support.”
Summerton said this was evidenced by the half-year trading statement issued today, which shows a return to profitability for the first time in three years.
“Shareholders and funders can look forward to a return on their investment,” he said.
He added that the excellent progress has allowed them to fast-track phase two of their plan — decentralising iOCO into five divisions:
- Digital — led by Beavin De Kock
- Connected Industrial Ecosystems (CIE) — led by Dion Govender
- Intelligent Technology Solutions (ITS) — led by Conrad Blignaut
- Outsourced knowledge solutions (OKS) — led by Clydie Cronje,
- International companies — led by Essam Elbadri, Tamer Mostafa, Richard Vester, and Florian Baumann
“We have empowered each business unit with ‘radical autonomy’ to achieve their own set of KPIs,” Summerton stated.
“They will deliver within the framework of JSE-listed and regulated compliance, and work with the Group CFO to enable this.”
Summerton said their decentralised approach is designed to allow iOCO to thrive as a unified group.
“We have moved to this decentralised approach because we have full confidence in the leadership of these five divisions,” he said.
“This also means that the role of a traditional group CEO is no longer required.”
Instead, they believe the group CEO’s role should be to focus on resource allocation — capital and talent — while bedding down the “radical autonomy” of the group.
“To that end, Dennis and I will become joint-CEOs of iOCO,” Summerton said.
“Dennis will focus on driving a recovery in revenue growth through correct talent allocation, and I will focus on capital allocation and group strategy to ensure the best use of iOCO’s profitability.”
Summerton said he and Venter would continue to be incentivised on share price performance rather than a cash salary.
“This alignment of interests will ensure we do our best for all iOCO stakeholders,” he said.
“We look forward to providing further details of the recovery plan at the interim results to be released on 2 April 2025.”
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