Global call centre company Teleperformance has appointed Fagri Semaar, a former call centre agent, as its new MD for SA.
Semaar's career in the business process outsourcing sector started in 1999, when he was appointed as a teleresources agent. After various leadership positions, he joined a skills development organisation as an equal partner in 2004, and then opened his own project management and IT consultancy company in 2008.
Semaar also acted as an interim head of umbrella organisation, Business Process enabling SA, for about 10 months, until former Teleperformance SA MD Gareth Pritchard took over in December 2010.
Semaar, who joined the company at the beginning of this month, plans to grow the South African unit “aggressively” in the next year. Teleperformance has 128 000 staff in more than 50 countries, of which 600 work in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Teleperformance SA will hire “many people” in the next few months, as Semaar is “hell bent” on creating jobs. He adds the company is also looking to expand geographically and is likely to open a second branch in Johannesburg.
“I am very excited about this opportunity... I have already started to see signs of potential growth in the financial services, utilities, public and mobile telecommunications sectors,” says Semaar. “Expansions of key accounts are also on the cards, and I am confident that our operation will grow substantially by the end of 2012.”
Semaar says SA is a crucial part of Teleperformance's strategy to make its mark in Africa. He says the country is an alternative destination that offers English-based support.
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