Dimension Data CEO Werner Kapp has stepped down just over a year after taking the reins at the group. No reason has been given for his departure and a new CEO has been appointed.
On Wednesday, the Johannesburg-based technology company said Kapp would be leaving, effective from the end of June.
Kapp, who has been with Dimension Data for 22 years, took over the role of CEO in April 2021 following the departure of Grant Bodley, another veteran of the group. He “oversaw the globalisation ambitions of parent company NTT during his term”, the company said.
Kapp joined Dimension Data in Gqeberha as regional executive for the Eastern Cape, having started his IT career in a call centre. He went on to multiple roles, running the group’s businesses in the Western Cape and Gauteng before he became regional executive for the Middle East and Africa.
With the departure imminent, the group has appointed Alan Turnley-Jones as CEO of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa, effective from June 1.
Turnley-Jones has been with the company since 1999, and has served as head of its managed cloud and infrastructure services unit since 2021.
“He is a seasoned and highly respected strategic leader who has held various roles over his 23-year tenure at Dimension Data. He brings a wealth of global expertise to his role, including a strong track record of innovation and transformation and leading cross-functional teams,” said the company.
Kapp will complete a handover to ensure a smooth transition.
Turnley-Jones takes over a group whose reputation has been tested in recent years. Former chair Andile Ngcaba took the company to court in 2020 alleging racial discrimination and violation of an equal pay undertaking, an allegation that the company denies.
Earlier this year, the group said some of its former executives violated the law when they oversaw the sale of the company’s sprawling head office without adequate conflict of interest disclosures. This came after an anonymous letter alleged that an independent investigation into the 2019 transaction, which was meant to boost the company’s BEE credentials, had found evidence that implicated executives who engaged in unethical and illegal activities to line their pockets.
Co-founded in 1983 by Jeremy Ord, who was executive chair, the group has undergone a major restructuring of its business and operating model over the past two years. It was once one of the largest technology companies on the JSE, with a market cap of R77bn at its peak in September 2000. In 2010, it delisted after being bought by Japanese tech firm Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) for £2.1bn.
The group has consolidated its various businesses under one name, retiring brands such as Britehouse, a digital products unit; Internet Solutions, its internet services provider business; and ContinuitySA. The company now operates as One Dimension Data, except for its internet service provider, MWeb, and business process outsourcing unit Merchants.
In 2021, NTT said it would double down on its investment in the Johannesburg-based IT company, shutting the door on the possibility that the regional unit would make a return to the JSE after a review of the Tokyo-based company’s portfolio, valued at more than $109bn (R1.694-trillion), sparked speculation that Dimension Data could be on the chopping block and possibly become a publicly traded company again.
Dimension Data is spending R1.6bn to build a data centre in Johannesburg, to capitalise on the growing demand for remote data storage and other IT services in the region.
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