Seacom CEO Oliver Fortuin to step down

Seacom, which operates terrestrial and undersea fibre telecommunications infrastructure, said on Thursday that its CEO, Oliver Fortuin, is stepping down after two years in the role.

Fortuin, who is emigrating to “be closer to his adult children, who have relocated overseas”, will continue to serve in the CEO role until June. He will participate in the board process to find a successor.

Seacom completed several acquisitions on Fortuin’s watch, including of EOH Networking Solutions and Hymax, as well as selected infrastructure assets in Kenya and Uganda.

Seacom, which is chaired by Remgro executive Pieter Uys, was the first company to build an undersea cable along Africa’s east coast, and has since then invested significantly in terrestrial fibre assets and other infrastructure.

Fortuin took the reins at Seacom in January 2021 from Byron Clatterbuck. He has held many senior roles in South Africa’s technology sector, including at IBM and BT Group. He has also served on the boards of several tech companies as a non-executive director.

Seacom counts Remgro, Convergence Partners and Sanlam among its shareholders.  — (c) 2023 NewsCentral Media

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