Possible successors to Eskom boss André de Ruyter

With the top position soon open again at South Africa’s biggest state-owned company, the ailing power utility Eskom, it remains to be seen who will take on its toughest job.

Previous CEOs and possible successors to current boss André de Ruyter include:

Mpho Makwana

Makwana (November 2009-June 2010): Appointed in an acting capacity in November 2009 after Jacob Maroga resigned. Makwana served as acting chair and CEO simultaneously. His term as acting CEO ended when Brian Dames was appointed permanent CEO in July 2010. Makwana is known for leading the team that kept the lights on during the 2010 Fifa World Cup

Brian Dames

Dames (July 2010-March 2014): Dames started his career at Eskom in 1987 as a graduate in training at the Koeberg nuclear power station. He held various positions at Eskom before being appointed as CEO. Dames left the power utility in March 2014 after resigning in December 2013 for personal reasons. He was known for stabilising Eskom following the first bout of load shedding in 2007 and for keeping the lights on during his tenure.

Edward Kieswetter

Kieswetter, currently commissioner of the SA Revenue Service, is a possible successor to De Ruyter. Kieswetter has wide experience at Eskom, having worked as a senior manager in charge of the utility’s power stations and generation capacity from January 1992 to March 2000. He and his executive team were praised for turning around Eskom’s operations by improving worker safety at power stations and rebuilding a 600MW generation unit from scratch – a huge engineering feat. Eskom’s power stations were voted the best in the world for their engineering excellence and efficiency.

Jacob Maroga

Maroga, a former CEO of Eskom, has a long history working at the power utility, first joining in 1995 and rising through the ranks to be chief executive from 2007 to 2009. Maroga is viewed as being deeply suspicious of renewable energy, strongly advocating for coal’s place in the energy mix.

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