Lesaka Technologies CEO Meyer is to step down
Financial services and technology group Lesaka Technologies CEO Chris Meyer will step down at the end of February next year after almost three years at the helm of the company formerly known as Net1.
The company, valued at about R3.8bn on the JSE, said on
Tuesday that Meyer will remain a director of the group, with Ali Mazanderani taking over as executive chair from the beginning of February.
“I have dedicated all my energy over the past nearly three years to the turnaround and rebuilding of the Lesaka platform, spending the majority of that time apart from my family in the UK,” Meyer said in the brief announcement. “The vibrant and energised Lesaka of today looks very different to the business we took on almost three years ago, and I am exceptionally proud of what this extraordinary team has achieved,” he said.
Lesaka, which has a primary listing on Nasdaq and secondary listing on the JSE, provides informal retail merchants with a point-of-sale device with which they can pay suppliers and sell products, including airtime and electricity. More than 72,000 informal retail merchants use its cash management solutions, bill payment technologies, valueadded services, business funding and card-acquiring solutions.
Meyer said that Mazanderani is the “perfect candidate” to lead the group. He joined Lesaka’s board in 2020 and is co-founder of European fintech company Teya. His other work experience includes serving as the director of fintech companies StoneCo in Brazil and Network International in the UAE.
The present chair Kuben Pillay will be a lead independent director in February, but will still chair board meetings.