Manx Telecom has appointed Hugo van Zyl to the role of chief technology officer.

Hugo joins Manx Telecom from Telkom, the incumbent telecommunications company in his native South Africa was part of a leadership team that has seen the organisation transition from an engineering-led business to become a more customer-focused company.

He held a number of managerial and senior leadership positions, including chief technology and systems officer with Telkom’s wholesale and networks division, Openserve and, most recently, managing executive for mobile networks in Telkom’s consumer division.

He has more than 20 years’ experience in the telecoms industry, working with some of the biggest names in the sector and across many fields of operation including fixed and mobile communications, networks and IT, ethernet, IP and solution architecture while also contributing as a trained coach and culture champion.

Hugo said: ‘I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to gain an end-to-end view of telecoms networks and operations which will be very useful in my new role at Manx Telecom. I have already been impressed with the culture of the business here, its technical capabilities and its commitment to being part of the local community.’

Manx Telecom chief executive officer, Gary Lamb, said, ‘Hugo has an outstanding telecommunications pedigree, earned with some of the premier South African telecoms businesses.

‘His skill at driving commercial and technical alignment across organisations, as well as his experience in other forward-looking customer-focused companies, will be very valuable in his role as chief technology officer, as we move forward in an increasingly complex market.

‘Hugo has moved to the island with his family and we are very pleased to give them all a warm welcome.’