The
Group Chief Executive Officer of CSquared Link Holding Lanre Kolade has
announced his departure from the company, effective April 2024.
Mr.
Kolade had been running the business as Group CEO for five and half years,
having taken over shortly after the investment in the company by IFC, Mitsui
& Co. Ltd. and Convergence Partners. During his tenure, he led the
maturation and commercialization of the Google-founded venture into a key
player in the African digital infrastructure landscape.
Lanre
oversaw substantial growth in the business, having nearly tripled revenues
under his leadership. The footprint of the network grew from 2,100 km in 3
markets to 7,000 km in 5 markets, including regional backbone and subsea
infrastructure to complement best-in-class metro, FTTx and access networks.
This
included leading the entry of CSquared into new markets in the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Togo and the landing of the Equiano submarine cable
system in Togo.
The
decision to depart CSquared comes as Lanre explores new opportunities and
endeavors. He remains a passionate contributor to the pan-African digital
infrastructure community, driven by a vision to establish a lasting legacy of
fostering intercontinental connectivity.
"It has been an honour to serve
as the CEO of CSquared," said Mr Kolade. "I
am immensely proud of the accomplishments we have achieved together during my
time here. I am grateful for the support of the board, the leadership team, and
all the employees of CSquared. I am confident in the company's future and the
talented team that will continue to drive its success."
Mr.
Ian Paterson
has been appointed as interim CEO who is tasked with continuing the legacy and
aggressively building on the CSquared platform whilst a process to secure a
long-term successor to the outgoing CEO is conducted by the Board. Mr Paterson
has extensive experience in the African telecommunications industry and previously served as Chief Investment Officer at CSquared.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
