The Telecom Board of Directors (the Board) commenced a highly structured executive recruitment process during the second quarter of 2014 which culminated in a behavior based interview process on 21 August 2014 in Windhoek. A total of fourteen (14) applications were received and after a careful screening process, the Board shortlisted four (4) candidates.
The candidates were subjected to a ro¬bust process that included psychometric assessments, an executive case study based on the relevant incumbent’s vision and strategy during his first 100 days in office as well as a competency based interview session. The candidates were scored independently on uniform crite¬ria by the Interview Panel which con¬sisted of three Telecom Board members and three invited panel members repu¬table in the Namibian business milieu.
The scores following the interview pro¬cess was surprisingly close with a mere 1% difference between all candidates. The Interview Panel and the Board after relevant and appropriate consultations agreed that all four candidates inter¬viewed possessed various managerial qualities that would enable all four to manage Telecom Namibia going for¬ward, however lacked the full basket of competencies across all candidates. The Board realised that it is imperative to appoint the right transformational leader to lead Telecom into a new era and hence decided to provide the can¬didate that scored the highest points during the interview process – in the spirit of upholding sound governance principles – the opportunity to execute his first 100 days in office strategy and then to measure the candidate on his own strategy following an initial acting period of six (6) months. The Board would then consider final sub¬stantive appointment based on a satis¬factory performance rating based on a mutually agreed performance contract with the acting Managing Director.
The Board proceeded to offer such opportunity to the candidate that scored the highest points, Mr Andrew Kanime, and prompted him to embrace the opportunity extended to him however he declined to accept the acting position. Consequently, the Board decided to extend the same offer to the candidate that merely scored 1% lower than Mr Kanime during the interview process.
The Board is pleased to announce that after a thorough executive recruitment process, Mr Theodorus Klein has accepted an offer to lead Telecom Namibia initially in an acting capacity for a period of six (6) months from 1 November 2014 until 30 April 2015 after which his performance shall be assessed against his 100 days in office strategy which he presented to the interview panel during the recruitment process. His substantive appointment shall follow a satisfactory performance rating based on a mutually agreed performance contract with the Board.
This approach of the Board is in line with its strategy to transform Tele¬com Namibia into a high performance driven culture, renowned for excellence in pursuit of its vision: “To be Namibia’s most preferred, high performance infor¬mation communication technology ser¬vice provider of world class standards”.
Mr Klein started off his career at Telecom Namibia in 1985 and worked his way up over the past 29 years through the various levels, which includes numerous general management positions until the present day where he held the position of Chief Strategic Officer: Corporate Strategy. He was also the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Powercom (trading as LEO) in 2012.
Mr Klein holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Degree (1984), Hon¬ours Degree in Business Administration (2005) and Master in Business Admin¬istration (2007) from the University of Stellenbosch. He is a registered Profes¬sional Engineer and is acknowledged by peers as a seasoned professional.
The Board would like to congratulate Mr Klein for accepting this challenge and can assure him that the Board shall empower and support him in implementing his 100 day strategy.
Dr. Catherine Beukes-Amiss
Chairperson – Board of Directors
