The search for a new CEO for parastatal power utility Eskom is under way. The current CEO, Thulani Gcabashe, will stand down in December 2007 after 15 years with the utility, eight of which were as chief executive.
Addressing the Top 200 managers of Eskom on Thursday, chairperson Valli Moosa said that Gcabashe had made it clear when he accepted the second term of office in 2004 that he would not be available for a further term.
He said that Eskom had started the recruitment process early so that a suitable successor could be appointed by mid-2007 and therefore participate in a hand-over period of at least six months.
“As evidenced by the extraordinary achievements of Thulani over many years, finding a successor will be a challenging task.
“His term of office has been characterised by a number of notable accomplishments, including transforming the utility into a world-class South African company; the successful electrification programme; and the strengthening of the Eskom balance sheet to the extent that we can now fund one of the biggest infrastructure programmes ever tackled in South Africa.
“The utility’s readiness to deliver this ambitious capital-expansion programme stands as a testament to Thulani and the team he has built. They have for many years been putting together a robust expansion plan that is now coming to fruition. They have also created the organisational capacity to deliver and make a success of the capacity expansion programme,” Moosa said. — I-Net Bridge