Maziv, the parent organization overseeing fibre service providers Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), has appointed Phila Dube as the new group chief commercial officer.

Dube’s onboarding comes as Maziv and Vodacom prepare to contest a Competition Tribunal decision that inhibits Vodacom’s co-controlling stake in the firm, following the Competition Commission’s earlier approval of Vodacom and Remgro’s joint acquisition of a controlling share in Maziv.

With 26 years of experience at Telkom, where he served as chief commercial officer at Openserve, Dube is expected to be instrumental in steering Maziv’s commercial strategies amid growing competition in the fibre industry.

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“Phila’s extensive expertise in the sector and deep comprehension of customer needs align perfectly with our vision for the future. He is the ideal candidate to advance our commercial strategies across our consumer, enterprise, and carrier brands,” stated Maziv CEO Dietlof Mare.

Dube’s career features groundbreaking initiatives, including a significant managed dark fibre contract and the doubling of Openserve’s fibre broadband subscriber base. His expertise encompasses commercial strategy, business innovation, and product development.

Reflecting on his career shift from finance to strategy, Dube commented, “I wanted to be at the forefront where decisions are made.”

At Maziv, his objective will be to align the company’s offerings with customer expectations. “My focus is on genuinely understanding our enterprise, carrier, and mass-market clients, and finding ways to help them achieve their strategic goals,” he added.

Dube emphasized the need to enhance digital literacy and adoption, equating fibre connectivity to a basic necessity. “Until fibre is seen as essential, like bread, widespread uptake will remain a challenge,” he remarked.

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