SEACOM is pleased to announce the appointments of Craig Wilson as Chief Financial Officer and Jean-Louis Parmentier as Chief Operating Officer with effect 1 May 2008 and 1 June 2008 respectively. With the project firmly on schedule for commissioning in June 2009, these appointments represent an important step in securing SEACOM’s operational capacity as a key player in the African telecommunications industry.
Craig Wilson, a registered Chartered Accountant (SA), will be responsible for the overall financial functions of SEACOM and its subsidiaries including tax compliance, administration and treasury. He will also assist in the development of future strategic initiatives.
Previously with First Africa (an associate of Standard Chartered Bank) and Nedbank Capital, Craig was responsible for the identification and implementation of many pan-African corporate finance transactions across various regulatory regimes. His understanding of the multifaceted regulatory challenges inherent to the project will be highly beneficial to SEACOM.
In his capacity as COO, Jean-Louis Parmentier, a civil engineer specialising in telecommunications, will take responsibility for SEACOM’s operational structures across the geographies and ensure optimal resources and management efficiencies within the company.
Formerly CEO of Afrilink and then M-Link (both affiliates of Telecel International), Jean-Louis developed the business into a major carrier of voice and data traffic between Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and the rest of the world. His knowledge of the African and international voice and data markets will ensure that SEACOM delivers bespoke turnkey solutions to existing and future customers.
Brian Herlihy, SEACOM President, commented: “With less than 12 months to commissioning date, Craig and Jean-Louis add critical mass to SEACOM’s operational readiness. Their extensive African experience in their respective fields will be highly beneficial to our operations and complement our vision of becoming a real and tangible partner to bandwidth hungry African economies. We welcome Craig and Jean-Louis to the SEACOM team”.
SEACOM, which is privately funded and over three quarter African owned, will assist communication carriers in South and East Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks via India and Europe. The undersea fibre optic cable system will provide African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting east and southern African economic growth.
