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Investec Minds Ep 3: Sipho Maseko on the hard decisions that define leaders

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What does leadership look like after the CEO title falls away? In this episode of Investec Minds, former Telkom Group CEO Sipho Maseko joins Investec's Nkateko Mathonsi and Louise Pillay to reflect on leadership, business transformation and South Africa's future.
Drawing on his experience at Telkom, Vodacom and BP Southern Africa, Maseko shares lessons from leading one of South Africa's most significant corporate turnarounds and the personal cost of making difficult decisions.
The conversation explores Africa's infrastructure deficit, satellite broadband, regulation, AI investment, digital transformation, pay TV, sport and the economics of content. Maseko also discusses the opportunities he sees for South Africa and the continent over the coming decades.
His most powerful leadership insight? “People should feel you.”
Chapters
  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 01:33 Building to 2050
  • 02:45 Beyond the CEO seat
  • 03:51 The Telkom test
  • 06:05 The cost of a turnaround
  • 09:15 Balancing old rules and new technology
  • 14:03 Africa’s infrastructure gap
  • 16:35 The long road to AI returns
  • 21:17 The content calculus
  • 27:36 The family dividend
  • 29:55 Quickfire questions
  • 30:32 People before numbers
13 Aug English South Africa Business · Investing

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