Tech firm hires former British MD
African Equity Empowerment Investments has made a key executive appointment at Ayo Technology Solutions, a subsidiary that is planning for a separate JSE listing in 2018.
African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI) has made a key executive appointment at Ayo Technology Solutions, a subsidiary that is planning for a separate JSE listing in 2018.
On Tuesday, AEEI confirmed the appointment of Kevin Hardy, the former MD for Africa at telecoms giant British Telecommunications, as CEO of Ayo.
He will take up the appointment from December.
Hardy’s appointment is significant as one of Ayo’s main components in terms of value will be a 30% stake it has in British Telecommunications SA (BTSA). AEEI has held the BTSA stake since 2009 and is transferring the stake into Ayo for the upcoming listing.
A recent investor presentation covering AEEI’s results for the year to end-August suggested an estimated current value of R1bn for the BTSA stake.
Khalid Abdulla, the CEO of AEEI, said the Ayo board decidbuilt ed it was time to appoint a focused individual to drive the next phase and build growth. Hardy would be responsible for driving Ayo into its next significant growth phase.
Hardy’s appointment follows hard on the heels of Ayo’s announcement that it intended to raise between R3.7bn and R5.7bn in a private placement ahead of its proposed listing.
In the year to end-August, Ayo carried a directors’ valuation of R3bn, with operating profits — buoyed by an upward revaluation of the stake in BTSA — reflected as almost R650m.
Apart from its stake in BTSA, Ayo holds an array of operations offering specialised services for the information technology and telecommunications sectors. The operational footprint, which initially focused on healthcare data management, has grown significantly since the acquisitions of Puleng Technologies and Kalula Communications.
In another change at board level for Ayo, Abdulla will step down as executive chairman. Corporate lawyer and AEEI deputy chairman Salim Young — who recently retired as an executive director at British American Tobacco SA — has been appointed independent nonexecutive chairman of Ayo.
THE BOARD DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO APPOINT A FOCUSED INDIVIDUAL TO DRIVE THE NEXT PHASE