A record number of top South African chief executive officers have left their posts in recent weeks, sparking questions about what’s behind the mass exodus.<\/p>\n
In May, Eskom, Old Mutual, Massmart, and Comair’s chief executives all announced that they would step down from their roles.<\/p>\n
Speaking to CNBC Africa<\/a><\/strong>, director of the Chairman’s Institute and of Portfolio & Co Johann Redelinghuys, said that the outflow of CEOs is ‘unprecedented’.<\/p>\n “The interesting this that it’s not just CEOs leaving, but also CEOs that are leaving after a very short space of time,” he said.<\/p>\n Redelinghuys said that there is a combination of factors that lead to these types of departures, including:<\/p>\n “I don’t think we have a leadership crisis, but I do think we have a communication crisis,” Redelinghuys said.<\/p>\n “The communication between the chief executive and the board\/chairman is often lacking in content and the ability to see things through.”<\/p>\n Redelinghuys said that the often cited ‘lack of trust’ is simply due to poor communications lines.<\/p>\n “They keep talking about a lack of trust, but as in any relationship, a lack of trust is a lack of communication. I really do believe that in many of these cases, communication is at fault,” he said.<\/p>\n Old Mutual<\/strong><\/p>\n Redelinghuys cited the most recent case of Old Mutual CEO, Peter Moyo, who last week parted ways with the insurer.<\/p>\n Before taking up the position, Moyo claims that he disclosed that he had outside interests. However, he was suspended after a disagreement over how the company should engage with an investment firm he founded.<\/p>\n\n