BCX is entering a critical leadership transition as long-serving industry veteran Jonas Bogoshi prepares to retire, handing over the reins at a time when the enterprise business unit continues to bleed revenue amid cautious client spending.
The telecommunications and IT services provider, owned by JSE-listed Telkom Group, confirmed that Bogoshi—who joined as chief revenue officer in April 2018 before being promoted to CEO later that year—will step down effective 1 March 2026.
His departure comes as BCX grapples with a 9.3% revenue decline in the third quarter of FY2026 and a 5.9% drop year-to-date, dragged down by continued strain in Converged Communications.
While Bogoshi was “instrumental in laying the foundation for the next phase of our strategic review,” according to Telkom Group the incoming leadership will now bear responsibility for accelerating transformation initiatives that have yet to stem the unit’s revenue bleed.
A Seasoned Hand Takes Over
Stepping into the acting CEO role is Hasnain Motlekar, a Telkom Group veteran of 28 years whose experience spans both commercial and financial functions across the business.
The appointment signals a desire for operational stability and institutional continuity as BCX navigates what the company describes as “cautious enterprise spending” and “clients contain costs.”
But Motlekar inherits a business in transition—and the numbers tell a sobering story.
Mixed Signals in the Portfolio
Despite BCX’s struggles, the broader Telkom Group managed marginal revenue growth of 1.3% in Q3 and 2.7% year-to-date, buoyed by 9.6% growth in group data revenue. However, BCX’s underperformance has effectively offset those gains.
There are bright spots: Cybersecurity showed “good growth,” and IT hardware and software revenue jumped 19.6%, driven by the timing of project executions and deal closures. But these wins have yet to move the needle meaningfully against the broader decline.
The EBITDA margin has held relatively steady at 10.4% for Q3 and 10.1% year-to-date—roughly flat compared to the first half—suggesting that margin discipline remains intact even as top-line pressure persists.
A Career Spanning ICT’s Evolution
Bogoshi brought formidable credentials to the role when he took the helm in 2018. His CV includes stints as CEO of Gijima, country manager for Dell EMC in South Africa, vice-president of sales at T-Systems, chief of strategic services at the State IT Agency, and commercial sector manager at Cisco Systems.
That deep experience across the ICT landscape positioned him to navigate BCX through a complex market environment. But the prolonged enterprise spending slowdown—exacerbated by clients’ cost-containment measures—has proven a stubborn headwind.
What Comes Next
The company emphasises that “focused management actions remain in place to support operational stabilisation and margin discipline” as it navigates this leadership transition. But the core challenge remains: reversing BCX’s revenue decline while executing a portfolio and revenue transition in a tough market.
For Motlekar, the mandate is clear—accelerate the transformation initiatives that Bogoshi helped blueprint, and deliver the growth that has so far proven elusive. Whether a 28-year Telkom veteran can inject fresh momentum into a struggling enterprise unit will be the defining question of his tenure.
BCX’s leadership transition takes effect 1 March 2026.
