Open-access fibre network provider Frogfoot Networks has expanded its senior executive team, as it embarks on its next growth phase – expanding fibre services throughout SA’s low-income areas.
According to a statement, the company has appointed Llewelyn Hofmeyr as COO, David Coleman as chief product officer and Ulrich Sonn as chief sales officer.
Furthermore, Javid Sarvan has been appointed as CFO, while Deon Thirumalai is the new CIO.
According to Frogfoot – which is part of Vivica Holdings, formerly known as Vox − the new hires have been introduced to reflect its maturity in the market and position it for the next phase of growth.
Shane Chorley, CEO of Frogfoot, says the appointments form part of the natural evolution of the business, helping strengthen operations and governance, while also affording the founders the time to focus on identifying and taking advantage of new opportunities.
The new roles were traditionally carried out through Frogfoot's partnership with various entrepreneurs within the business, he states.
"We have appointed dynamic individuals who bring with them experience from a variety of industry sectors, which we felt would bring a fresh view into the business and help us go beyond 'the normal'.
“This executive team will focus on how to make products that are profitable and how to use that profitability to expand fibre rollouts beyond major urban centres and high-income neighbourhoods, into local communities,” notes Chorley.
According to Frogfoot, Hofmeyr joined the company in 2017 and has been critical to the growth of the business over the last six years. He has extensive experience in the fibre network build space and now heads up operations, it says.
Coleman will be responsible for monitoring the analytical data across the network.
According to Frogfoot, Sonn has nearly two decades of experience in the telecoms industry, specialising in strategic sales management, and developing and executing programmes for sustainable revenue growth through innovative solutions.
Sarvan is a qualified chartered accountant and MBA graduate with over a decade’s involvement in financial management roles.
With over two decades' experience in IT, Thirumalai prioritises positioning IT as an integral and inseparable component of business, having led the digital paradigm shift in previous positions.
In 2021, Frogfoot bought Link Africa’s fibre assets in the Western Cape, and has targeted SA’s underserviced areas, through its own national long-distance fibre offering.
“We've given South Africans the ability to believe that wherever they are in the country, if there is enough density, they should be able to get fibre. This was unheard of previously, but is now normal thanks to Frogfoot's focus on secondary cities and towns,” says Chorley.
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