Power utility Eskom has appointed Bheki Nxumalo as its new Group Executive for Generation, effective immediately.
Nxumalo will take over from Thomas Conradie, who has acted in the role for the past few months.
Eskom said that Nxumalo has served in the energy sector for over 20 years, filling roles from junior to senior management and executive levels.
“He is an all-round business leader comfortable in governance, people and technical aspects of the role,” it said.
He will report directly to the Acting Group Chief Executive, Calib Cassim.
“We have been searching for the Group Executive Generation for a while now. It has been very difficult to find a suitable candidate that would hit the ground running,” Cassim said.
“The Generation recovery plan is in full swing. We needed someone that would passionately drive the execution of recovery plan while inspiring staff to reach beyond their reach.”
Prior to this appointment, Nxumalo was the Chief Executive Officer Eskom Enterprise and Eskom Rotek Industries. He has extensive operating, power station management and production experience. He was the Power Station Manager at two of Eskom’s power stations and the General Manager at Kusile Power Station.
He also had a brief stint as Group Executive for Generation and Group Capital.
Nxumalo acknowledged that he would be taking the role at a critical time, though he expressed confidence that the group is able to turn things around.
“I strongly believe that Eskom has the technical and managerial capability to turn things around. The majority of Eskom employees are passionate about their work and company. I know that I can count on the support of my colleagues in Exco and the new Eskom board to make this a reality,” he said.
Nxumalo has his work cut out for him. Generation is Eskom’s worst-performing sector and is responsible for the near-permanent state of load shedding in the country.
His appointment comes as South Africa enters day 103 of load shedding in 2023, which is currently at stage 6 until further notice.
Source: Businesstech
Link: https://businesstech.co.za/news/energy/680083/eskom-appoints-new-head-of-generation/?fbclid=IwAR0txf2ALLl48u5vXflUAOi67hBUkXWpVrCfm_iamdSBPfTjim4nS9qTB1Y
