Vumatel owner appoints Telkom veteran as group chief commercial officer

Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa owner Maziv had announced the appointment of Phila Dube as the group’s chief commercial officer.
Dube replaces Junaid Munshi, who was appointed in July 2023 and left to join Cable & Wireless Seychelles in February 2024.
Maziv says Dube’s expertise will strengthen its leadership team, and his appointment will continue the group’s momentum of strategic appointments made in the past year.
“Phila’s extensive experience in the sector and deep understanding of customer needs align perfectly with our vision for the future,” said Maziv CEO Dietlof Mare.
“Phila is the ideal candidate to drive our commercial strategies forward across our consumer, enterprise and carrier brands.”
Dube has a wealth of experience in the space, gained during his 26-year stint with the Telkom Group, where he held various senior roles.
His last role with the Telkom Group was chief commercial officer at Openserve, a position he held from April 2020 to November 2024.
Though initially focused on finance and marketing, Dube transitioned to commercial strategy, business strategy, and product innovation during his time at Telkom.
“I wanted to be at the coalface where decisions are made,” says Dube.
He added that his shift in expertise allowed him to better understand the industry and the technologies that shape it.
While Telkom Group’s chief commercial officer, Dube spearheaded several initiatives, including a ground-breaking managed dark fibre agreement of substantial commercial value to the company.
His involvement was crucial in doubling Openserve’s fibre broadband subscriber base and expanding its channel partner network.
At Maziv, Dube will focus on shaping the group’s overall commercial strategy and explore ways to engage and serve Maziv’s various customer segments.
“My priority is on deeply understanding our enterprise, carrier and mass market customers, and identifying ways to help them succeed in their strategic goals,” he said.
“By aligning our offerings and engagement models to their evolving needs, I believe we can unlock tremendous value and also have a meaningful impact on communities.”
Dube holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science from the University of South Africa (Unisa) and a Master of Business Leadership from the Unisa Graduate School of Business Leadership.
He also holds a Certificate in Executive Leadership Development from the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland and the Senior Executive Program for Africa from Harvard Business School.