Media Statement
30 September 2013, Stellenbosch
Michael Jordaan, former Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank and recent recipient of the CNBC Africa Business Leader of the Year for Southern Africa award, will join Mxit as chairman of its board of directors.
“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. 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,” said Jordaan.
“Mxit is a really cool company and has built some world-first innovations over the last eight years. I have spent some time with their development and design team and they have shown me some of the projects they are working on, especially in the smart phone space. I look forward to the announcements that are planned over the next few months,” said Jordaan.
“One specific aspect of Mxit that I believe is unique is how Mxit is leveraging their technology to help people, particularly in the fields of mobile education and health care,” said Jordaan.
“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,” commented Mxit CEO, Francois Swart.
Recently Mxit announced that its monthly active base of 7.4 million users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the social network, making it the most engaging media platform in South Africa.
“Mxit is in better shape than it has ever been,” said CEO, Francois Swart. “Businesses and organisations are experiencing the power of Mxit as a way to reach consumers, resulting in record-breaking advertising revenues almost every month.”
According to Mxit’s monthly brand index, the top three brands on Mxit have well over a million followers, indicating that Mxit is a fertile ground for brand and social media engagement. Following the recent announcement of ‘Mxit Launch’, its publishing platform for creating pages on Mxit, the company is opening up even more of its services to agencies and brands.
Mxit has seen some remarkable brand partnerships arise since giving the market ‘Mxit Launch’. In the last year alone, big brands such as Vodacom, SPAR, BlackBerry, Unilever, Mainstay and KFC have used Mxit Launch and joined the platform. In the run-up to the 2013 elections, political parties such as the ANC and Agang joined rival DA, which has been on Mxit since 2012.
Mxit’s shareholders are also excited about Jordaan’s new position.
“Having a business heavyweight of Jordaan’s calibre on the board of directors is no doubt a sign of great things to come from Mxit,” said key shareholder Paul Harris.
Jordaan takes over from Roger Grobler, who remains on the board as non-executive director
Michael Jordaan’s Biography:
Dr. Michael Jordaan, MCom, Ph.D. served as the Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank, a subsidiary of Firstrand Ltd until September 2013. Jordaan matriculated from Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch in 1985. He completed his M.Comm (Economics) and Ph.D (Banking Supervision) at Stellenbosch University. After serving as a Commissioned Officer in the SA Navy, Jordaan was a Management Trainee with Deutsche Bank in Hamburg, followed by Corporate Banker with Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. He then completed a Class-of programme with RMB in Johannesburg that led to his appointment as CEO of Origin Bank, followed by CEO of FNB HomeLoans; eBucks.com; FNB Customer Solutions Division and final appointment as CEO of First National Bank.
Further Mxit information:
Mxit is a South African created mobile social network. It has 7.4 million monthly active users, of which 6.5 million are in South Africa. Being device agnostic, over 3000 different handsets and mobile devices can download and access the Mxit platform. By acting as a gateway to functions not otherwise available on feature phones, Mxit affordably bridges the gap between feature and smart phones.
For media queries contact:
Jess Webb
Senior Account Manager
Mxit South Africa
jess@bletchleypark.co.za
