Vodacom Group has named Balesh Sharma as the managing director and CEO of its newly-carved out standalone South African operating company — Vodacom South Africa.
Vodacom, majority-owned by Vodafone (60.5 percent stake), is an African communications company providing a range of offerings, including mobile voice, messaging, data, financial, and converged services.
It has operations in South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Kenya, among others.
Sharma — former Vodafone Idea CEO — has been appointed MD and CEO of Vodacom South Africa with effect from July 1, 2020. He will report to Shameel Joosub, chief executive officer, Vodacom Group.
Sharma is currently director of special projects, Vodafone Group, driving strategic projects globally, including supporting the rollout of new telecom operations in Oman.
“For Vodacom Group to play a central role of overseeing all operations across its African footprint, this has necessitated the creation of a standalone South African operating company that will be led by Balesh Sharma in the newly created role of Managing Director: Vodacom South Africa,” Vodacom said in a statement on its website.
The company has now put in place a simplified structure, it added.
“…This includes the decoupling of Vodacom South Africa as a standalone business. Under Balesh’s leadership, I am confident that the increased focus will leverage the numerous opportunities that exist in South Africa from both our traditional telco business and our technology-focused growth acceleration units,” Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub said.
