In a surprising development, MultiChoice South Africa CEO Mark Rayner has resigned after almost 14 years with the pay-television broadcaster.

Rayner told TechCentral via text message on Monday evening that he has no immediate career plans. He declined to comment further about the reasons for his resignation.

“It is with great regret that today we announced the departure of Mark Rayner from MultiChoice, effective 30 November 2020. Having been part of the MultiChoice family for the past 14 years, leading in various parts of the group, Mark has now decided to further his journey outside the group,” MultiChoice spokesman Maaga said in an e-mailed response to a text message.

“Over the years, Mark has been a key part of driving growth, championing product innovation and pushing customer focus. We wish him well in the future. An announcement on Mark’s successor will be made in the near future.”

Rayner joined MultiChoice in March 2007 as chief financial officer of DStv Mobile before being promoted to CEO of the division 18 months later. He served as MultiChoice South Africa’s chief operating officer from 2013 to 2016 before taking the CEO role, according to his profile on LinkedIn.

His resignation comes just weeks after MultiChoice took the wraps off some of its biggest product innovations in years, including plans to launch a new 4K-resolution, Internet-connected PVR decoder and a streaming version of DStv that no longer requires a satellite dish. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media