Jordaan joins Mxit board
Former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan has been appointed as the chairman on South African mobile social platform, Mxit‘s board.
“I have been watching Mxit with interest for several years now. It is difficult not to have a sense of pride about a homegrown South African company making such an impact in the social media and mobile space,” Jordaan said in a statement.
“It was an easy decision to join as chairman and I am looking forward to playing a part in the future of Mxit, both in South Africa and internationally.”
Jordaan is set to leave his role at FNB at the end of 2013.
Jacques Celliers, who is currently the CEO of FNB Business Banking and head of FNB´s
India expansion, has been appointed to succeed him.
In May 2013, Jordaan hinted that he hoped to become a part of the Cape start-up “vibe”.
In an interview with Moneyweb, Jordaan added that having commuted from Cape Town to Johannesburg on a weekly basis to fulfil his duties with FNB, he hoped to re-engage with his family.
“There’s lots of entrepreneurial things one can do not based in Joburg. The world’s become much smaller and much flatter. Technology allows amazing things, and there is a whole technological start-up vibe in the Cape that I hope to become part of in due course,” Jordaan said at the time.
In August, the JSE announced that Jordaan would also be joining its board as a non-executive director, effective 1 January 2014.
Michael Jordaan and Francois Swart
Last week (20 September), Mxit announced that it had appointed acting CEO, Francois Swart as its permanent chief executive.
“Michael’s appointment is a great coup for us. I am sure he has been inundated with offers, and to become part of the Mxit team is a vindication of the direction we have taken and the innovation that is happening within Mxit,” Swart said on Jordaan’s appointment.
Since late 2012, Mxit has seen a shift in strategy, with a strong focus on narrowing down its key focus areas, while opening up the platform to third-party developers.
Latest statistics from World Wide Worx and Fuseware show that Mxit’s user base has grown to 7.4 million, up from 6.95 million in August 2012, using a 30-day metric.
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