Our board of directors

Mohamed (Imtiaz) Ahmed Patel 60

Outgoing non-executive chair

Qualifications: HDipEdu

Appointed 6 December 2018

Stepped down 23 April 2024

Imtiaz was previously the CEO of the Naspers Group Limited (Naspers) video entertainment segment, CEO of the MultiChoice South Africa Group, MultiChoice South Africa and SuperSport International. He was awarded the prestigious Naspers Phil Weber Award in 2009. Prior to that, he was the director of professional cricket at the United Cricket Board of South Africa. He has a Higer Diploma in Education from Wits, completed the executive PMD programme offered by the University of Cape Town’s Business School, and completed the senior executive programme at Harvard Business School.

Elias Masilela 60

Incoming independent non-executive board chair

Qualifications: BSocSci (Economics and Statistics) and MSc (Economic Policy and Analysis)

Appointed 6 December 2018 and elected as board chair with effect from 23 April 2024

Elias previously served as the CEO of the Public Investment Corporation Limited until June 2014, the head of policy analysis at Sanlam Limited and the deputy director general at the National Treasury. Until the end of March 2024, he was also the chair of Sanlam, chair of Ingagaru Investments, BuMa Investment Holdings and Capital Harvest. Elias is a former board member of the South African Reserve Bank, Government Employees Pension Fund and United Nations Global Compact, among others. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Economics and Statistics from the University of Swaziland and a Master’s in Economic Policy and Analysis from Addis Ababa University.

Adv Kgomotso Ditsebe Moroka 70

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: BProc and LLB

Appointed 6 December 2018

Kgomotso is a senior counsel and member of the Johannesburg Bar. Until recently, she held non‑executive directorships at Standard Bank Group Limited and Netcare Limited. Kgomotso serves as trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Hospital and the Apartheid Museum. She also served as the chair of M‑Net’s Phuthuma Futhi Trust. She holds a Baccalaureus Procurationis from the University of the North and an LLB from Wits.

John James (Jim) Volkwyn 66

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: John James (Jim) Volkwyn

Appointed 6 December 2018

Jim has held a number of senior roles within MultiChoice and Naspers, including, the role of CEO of the Naspers’s global video entertainment segment, before retiring in 2014. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Cape Town and is a chartered accountant (CA) (SA).

Louisa Stephens 47

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: BBusSc (Finance), CA(SA) and CD(SA)

Appointed 6 December 2018

Louisa serves on the boards of a number of listed and unlisted companies. She serves as a director of Netcare Limited, Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana), Strate Proprietary Limited, and the Institute of Directors in South Africa NPC. She previously served as a director of Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited, African Bank Limited, South Ocean Holdings Limited and AFGRI Limited, and held management positions as chief investment officer of Circle Capital Ventures, general manager: finance investments at Nozala Investments, and fund manager of the uMnotho Fund at the National Empowerment Fund. She holds a Bachelor of Business Science and BCom Honours (Accounting), and is a CA(SA) and chartered director (CD)(SA).

Christine Mideva Sabwa 51

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: BCom (Accounting), Certified Public Accountant of Kenya

Appointed 14 May 2019

Christine has a strong background in accounting and her experience spans numerous industries, including financial services, telecommunications (digital finance) and insurance. Over the past 28 years, she has gained experience in auditing, accounting, special investigations, revenue assurance, risk management, banking, governance and digital finance. With a successful career in financial services across consulting, insurance and banking, Christine worked for Standard Bank South Africa where she served as a senior manager, overseeing the strategic finance and tax function of operations in 15 African countries. She is the managing partner at Sabwa and Associates based in Nairobi, servicing financial advisory needs of clients in Kenya.

Dr Fatai Adegboyega Sanusi 62

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: MBBS, FRCOG

Appointed 5 July 2019

Fatai is a senior consultant in the United Kingdom National Health Service, serving in this position for 21 years at West Hertfordshire NHS Trust. He has many years of experience in governance and risk management at board level. He is active in education and training and served as a training director. He was a clinical director on many management committees including financial, future planning and nomination committee appointing consultants. He is a Fellow of the Royal College in England. Fatai holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Lagos.

James Hart du Preez 65

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: CA(SA) and CD(SA)

Appointed 1 April 2021

James is a CA(SA) who was admitted as a partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc (PwC) in 1996. As the clients and markets development leader for PwC Africa, he was responsible for digital marketing, advertising, sponsorships and business development. James served on the PwC – Europe, Middle East and Africa Business Development Board from 2010 to 2019. He retired from PwC in June 2019. James consulted for Citadel Wealth Management in a business development and marketing capacity. He is a CD(SA) of the Institute of Directors in South Africa NPC. He is also a chartered marketer (SA) with the Marketing Association of South Africa.

Deborah Klein 55

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: B Bus Sci Advanced Management Programme (Harvard Business School)

Appointed 1 September 2023

Deborah’s background spans commercial brand, marketing, communications, corporate social responsibility and human resources. She was previously the Group Chief Marketing, Corporate Affairs and People Officer at Sky. Her remit included brand reputation, internal and external communications including social media, and public affairs. She also led Sky’s corporate social responsibility programme, including its commitment to reach net zero carbon by 2030, and Sky’s human resources strategy and function. Her focus has been on driving digital transformation, using new platforms and social media to engage customers and employees. She was previously Chief Executive Europe and Asia Pacific at The Engine Group, an integrated marketing services business, and earlier in her career worked in Strategy and Insight at Saatchi & Saatchi and Nielsen.

Andrea Zappia 60

Independent non-executive director

Qualifications: BSc (economics)

Appointed 1 September 2023

Andrea has been a senior executive at Sky for over 20 years. In his last role Andrea was the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer New Markets and Businesses for the Sky Group. His responsibilities included SkyNews/ SkyTG24 and, until a few months ago, SkyStudios, which he helped setup and lead, including the creation of SkyStudios Elstree. He has led the creation of SkyShowtime, a joint venture between Sky and Paramount Global JV, in which he served as the chairman up until 2023. He is chairman of MCH Group (the Swiss Company that owns ArtBasel) and a long-term board member of EssilorLuxottica. He started his career at the multinational Procter&Gamble company, where he held the post of European Group Marketing Manager. From 1996 to 2001, he was Global Sales and Marketing Director for Ferrari and Maserati. In 2003, he joined Sky Italia, where he held various executive positions before holding the post of CEO from 2011 to 2019.

Calvo Phedi Mawela 48

Chief Executive Officer

Qualifications: BSc Eng (Electrical)

Appointed 6 December 2018

Calvo was the CEO of MultiChoice South Africa after holding office as the head of stakeholder and regulatory affairs and executive in the chair’s office. He previously held positions as an engineer at Sentech and a broadcasting spectrum manager at ICASA. He has served in Industry Bodies including the Digital Migration Working Group, Digital Dzonga and the ICT Policy Review Panel. He also serves as a Commissioner to the Commission on 4IR, which is an industry body. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (previously University of Durban-Westville), a Management Advancement Programme (MAP) Postgraduate Diploma from Wits Business School, and a Postgraduate Diploma Economics for Competition Law from King’s College, London.

Timothy Neil (Tim) Jacobs 55

Chief Financial Officer

Qualifications: HDipAcc and CA(SA)

Appointed 6 December 2018

Tim was previously the CEO of MultiChoice Africa and CFO of the Naspers video entertainment segment. He previously held positions as CFO of Nampak Limited, CFO of Transaction Capital Limited and interim CFO of Altron Group. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, a Higher Diploma in Accounting from Rhodes University and is a chartered accountant CA(SA).