Andy Openshaw has stepped down as chief operating officer and as an executive director at Huge Group.
Contacted by TechCentral on Wednesday, Openshaw said there was nothing untoward about the development, that it had been coming for some time, and that he had effectively worked himself out of a job.
In March 2021, Huge Group’s board resolved to account as an investment entity in line with IFRS10 accounting rules.
Executive director Zak van de Merwe, a former head of Virgin Mobile South Africa who joined Huge Group last year through an acquisition of the Virgin Mobile assets, will take over Openshaw’s duties.
Openshaw remains a member of Huge Group’s investment committee and stays on as an employee of the group. However, Huge will no longer be his primary focus. He said he hasn’t decided yet what to do with his career and will take time off to contemplate his next steps.
“I am happy if the changes (Huge becoming an investment holding company) result in me heading off to do something else,” he said by phone. “I’m still contracted to Huge Management and will still do work for them when needed.”
Read: Boardroom drama at Huge Group as top directors quit
Huge Group CEO James Herbst said Van de Merwe is a good fit in the operations role. The management changes have been coming for more than a year, he said.
Read: Huge Group director resignations came as ‘complete shock’
The group made several other changes to its board last week, including appointing Maria Heraty as the new chief financial officer, replacing Samantha Sequeira, who resigned last year. – © 2023 NewsCentral Media