M&G gets new board chair and acting CEO
I want to share with you the start of a new phase for our publication. After more than a decade as chief executive of the Mail & Guardian, and now a significant shareholder in the parent company, I will assume a new role in the organisation. This change aims to usher in a fresh approach to secure the future of independent journalism that has been the hallmark of our publication for the past 38 years. I believe it is essential to embrace a new generation of leaders who will help shape our future.
On 22 June, our 200 Young South Africans event was the most successful in our history. As I observed the talent that South Africa has to offer and talked to the outstanding youth we recognised, it triggered reflection on my own journey.
The M&G has played a pivotal role in driving positive change. Whether it was our coverage against apartheid or our exposés on corruption, we have remained committed to building a better South Africa. As we step into the future, we must respond to the dynamic requirements of the digital age, serving new generations who have grown up without newspapers. Independent, quality journalism must adapt to their needs and we need visionary leadership to make that happen.
I have since held discussions with the M&G board and my fellow shareholders, the Media Development Investment Fund, and we have agreed that the organisation is well placed for me to relinquish my job as chief executive and take on that of chair of the board of M&G Media Limited, and to lead the task of finding my successor.
The media industry is different now to what it was when I was first appointed chief executive. The market has contracted so radically that I’m left stunned sometimes by the blunt force of it all. I will readily admit to having made mistakes. But under my watch, we have also thrived. And, above all, when we could have long faded into nothing, we survived. What I am most proud of is having maintained the independence of the M&G amid severe economic and political pressure.
My new job will allow me to focus on a broader role, promoting the M&G brand and leading efforts to recalibrate the relationship between technology companies and news media in South Africa.
The quality independent journalism of the M&G is essential as our democracy undergoes significant tests.
The new chief executive of the M&G must understand the political context and a new and growing audience.
To assist me with this transition, the board has agreed to second Thembisa Fakude to assume the role of acting chief executive for six months, the period we have allocated to recruiting a new CEO.
Thembisa is no stranger to the M&G.
He has been a member of the board overseeing the organisation for the past five years. He is also a senior research fellow at Africa Asia Dialogues (Afrasid), a columnist for the Middle East Monitor, London, UK, and a research fellow for the Al Sharq Forum, Istanbul, Turkey. His management experience includes being the former bureau chief at Al Jazeera Media Network in Southern Africa for both Arabic and English and thereafter became the head of external relations and English unit at the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Doha, Qatar. He has published extensively for various international media and academic platforms on the geopolitics of Africa and the Middle East.
Thembisa will immediately assume all my responsibilities as chief executive, and I will work closely with him as we transition to a new chapter for the M&G.
I am excited about the future for the
for myself and for the people it serves. —