Telkom has appointed Ian Russell as chief procurement officer with effect from 1 February 2014, the telecommunications group said in a statement on Thursday.

“This appointment takes us a step closer to completing the renewal of the top leadership team,” said group CEO Sipho Maseko. “Ian’s arrival will further bolster a capable and dedicated team that’s in place to drive Telkom’s transformation.”

The appointment follows the appointment of Len de Villiers as Telkom’s new chief information officer and of Enzo Scarcella as chief marketing officer.

Telkom is still recruiting a chief technology officer to replace outgoing technology head Bashier Sallie. “An announcement in this regard will be made at an appropriate time.”

“For Telkom, procurement is a transformative tool that can stimulate economic and social development in a broad context. I am confident that Ian’s vast experience in his field of expertise will help us drive cost transformation as we rebase our third-party spend through consolidation and disciplined vendor control and management,” Maseko said in the statement.

“Ian will be tasked with the development of more efficient supply chain options that enable us to relentlessly drive down our costs.

“He will further drive Telkom’s property portfolio optimisation by freeing up some of the capital and reining in the maintenance costs of these assets.”

Russell holds a BSc (Hons) in economics and an MBA in strategic procurement. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply.

He is outgoing head of procurement for South African Breweries. He is a former chief procurement officer for Absa. He worked for Barclays from 1997 to 2005 and has held a number of senior back office roles across Barclays. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media