Former Cell C CEO, American national Jeffrey Hedberg, has been appointed to lead Telkom as group CEO in an acting capacity following a decision by Reuben September to end his contract early.

September, who was expected to leave Telkom only in November, has elected to leave now instead. Senior sources at Telkom say developments in recent weeks, in which the board decided not to renew his contract, have taken a toll on September’s health. It was inevitable that he would leave early, they say.

In a statement issued to the JSE’s Sens news service on Friday, Telkom says September has “agreed with the Telkom board to step down as group CEO and resign as a director from 7 July 2010”. The group says September will assume a consulting role until 1 November.

“The Telkom board has commenced a process to appoint a new group CEO. In the interim, Hedberg has been appointed as acting group CEO,” it says in the statement.

“The board believes these arrangements provide leadership, continuity and stability at an important time given a number of key strategic and operational deliverables. A successor to September will be announced in due course.”

September’s departure follows a clash with Telkom chairman Jeff Molobela, who, reliable sources say, had been trying to engineer the Telkom veteran’s exit from the company for some time.

Spiwe Chireka, communications technology analyst at Frost & Sullivan, says Hedberg’s appointment is “a good move for Telkom, both in terms of timing and selection”.

Chireka, an outspoken critic of September, says Telkom “needs a turnaround strategy as a matter of extreme urgency, so to wait another six months before putting that plan into action would not have been beneficial to the company”.

“There are several critical components of the business that need direction and Telkom cannot afford to break momentum,” she says. “Specifically, Hedberg will need to drive the roll-out of Telkom Mobile, whose launch is imminent, make a decision on what to do with Multi-Links, which is in dire need of revival, and develop a sound international strategy for the group.”

But Hedberg’s appointment to the top job, even in acting capacity, is likely to raise fresh questions about Telkom’s commitment to its loss-making Nigerian operation, Multi-Links. Hedberg had been in charge of trying to rescue the troubled business, but his appointment as acting CEO raises fresh questions about whether Telkom will shut down Multi-Links.

It’s understood reliably that Telkom executives have debated at length about whether it makes sense to continue operating in Nigeria.

It’s believed an announcement about who will take over from Hedberg at Multi-Links will be made on Monday.

All eyes are on the Telkom board to see who it appoints as permanent Telkom CEO. Hedberg has the fact that he’s white and not South African counting against him. But he’s highly regarded for having helped turn around Cell C.

Other potential candidates for the top job are Telkom chief financial officer Peter Nelson and Telkom SA MD Nombulelo “Pinky” Moholi. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral