Imtiaz Patel will step down after nearly three years as Multichoice’s nonindependent nonexecutive chair in a move that is likely to improve governance standards after the company came under fire for having cosy deals with board members that exposed it to potential conflicts of interest.
Africa’s biggest pay-TV group appointed Elias Masilela, a long-standing independent member of the board, to succeed Patel — one of the board members with consultancy contracts with the group — in six months’ time.
“Given shareholder preference for an independent chair, it was always envisaged that Patel would step down at the appropriate time once a suitable replacement as independent chair had been identified,” MultiChoice said in a statement.
“Masilela is an excellent and experienced successor. He is also the chair of the board of Sanlam and is a former board member of the Reserve Bank and Government Employees Pension Fund.”
The R33.4bn firm recently terminated a consultancy contract with Kgomotso Moroka, one of its longest-serving board members, after investors flagged that a consultancy deal put her role as an independent director in question.
But questions remain about the conflict of interest of two other board members, Patel and Jim Volkwyn, who held similar consultancy contracts.
Volkwyn, who chairs the remuneration committee, got R5.1m for professional advisory services to group CEO Calvo Mawela. Patel, a former CEO of MultiChoice, got $1.1m for strategic and advisory support services at a global level.
On Monday MultiChoice said while Patel is to step down at the end of March, he will remain involved on a consultancy basis until October 2028. This includes consulting on Showmax, SuperSport and other operational areas.
“The board expresses its gratitude to Mr Patel for his invaluable contributions to the group and his exceptional leadership over the years and is delighted that he will continue to play an active role,” the MultiChoice board said.
MultiChoice shares rose 0.38% to R75.92 by midmorning, having slipped more than 35% since the start of the year.
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