Serame Taukobong: Leading a Resurrection

<p>“I was kicked out of a lab. They thought I’d blow it up. And I ended up in marketing.”</p><p><br></p><p>Serame Taukobong trained as a chemist. His first employer had other ideas. What followed was Unilever, SAB, M-Net, fifteen years at MTN across Africa and then Telkom, a part state-owned telecoms relic haemorrhaging landline revenue and fighting for relevance. On day four as CEO he was in court. On day twenty-five a presidential proclamation wiped R3 billion off the share price before he’d received his first pay cheque. </p><p>Today Telkom’s mobile business is the third largest in South Africa and one of the few state-linked companies making money. It turns out the man they threw out of the lab was exactly what the building needed.</p><p><br></p><p>This series is sponsored by Discovery Bank.</p><p>Follow all the episodes here.</p><p>Editions drop on Tuesdays at 07:00.</p>