By John Churu, Gaborone, Botswana
Orange Botswana CEO Phillippe Baudin has resigned from the company just one year into his three year contract.
In a letter to the Orange Botswana employees Baudin wrote “It has been one year since my joining of Orange Botswana. It is a great regret that today I have to announce my departure to you. Totally unexpected but unavoidable, due to some personal family problems, my staying in Botswana and consequently managing our company has become impossible. My departure date has not been confirmed as of yet but will be communicated with time but it will be before the end of this year,” said Baudin.
Orange Botswana assured clients and shareholders that the outgoing CEO will be replaced before the end of the year to facilitate a smooth transition and continuity of business at the entity. “The board will make sure that the transition phase is as smooth as possible and that there is no disruption in the way the business has been managed this year.”
Baudin appealed to the team to work towards making the company a success in 2015 as was his intention prior to his untimely exit. Insiders say the abrupt depature of the Orange Botswana CEO might be as a result of internal pressures. Especially that his depature comes just days after the Board of Directors meeting.
In response to the CEO’s intetion to resign, the Board Chairman Satar Dada confirmed that indeed Baudin has resigned from the company but said he hadresigned because his son was ill back in his native France. “His son accidentally fell and sustained injuries. He thought the injuries would come out right but it seems he needs some personal care.”
Comenting on the Board’s relationship with the outgoing CEO, dada said “We were very happy with the perfomance of Baudin, although it is too early to tell. His resignation has nothing to do with the labour relations issue that we have been having.”
Boga Chilinde, Orange Botswana spokesperson said Baudin will remain in the Orange group back in France. The outgoing CEO has been in the IT industry for more than 30 year. Before coming to Botswana, Baudin was CEO of Lightspeed Communications in Bahrain.
