If Jean-Claude Van Damme does not ring a bell in your mind then I am so sorry, you were born too late. You are like this born 2000 in her mid 20s (pun intended) who asked me who the hell is Rambo when I asked her to keep her mouth shut as I was busy watching a Rambo movie. If you were born in the late 80s to date, kindly be informed that the Hollywood movies found their way into Kenya’s households thanks to names like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and of course Jean-Claude Van Damme. That’s why when I read the press release that the new Ericsson President in charge of sub-saharan Africa is Jean-Claude Geha, I could not help but be nostalgic of the days I used to sneak out of high school or feign sickness just to catch some Hollywood action in a shs 5 movie den.
Movies aside, this article is meant to inform you that Ericsson has appointed a new President to be in charge of sub-saharan Africa in a move aimed at accelerating strategic execution, focusing on meeting changing customer requirements, capturing market opportunities to drive growth and ensuring performance improvement. In the new structure, Jean-Claude Geha replaces Fredrik Jejdling as the new Ericsson President in charge of sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, Fredrik Jejdling has been appointed as Head of a new Business Unit, Network Services and a member of Ericsson’s Executive Leadership Team. The new leadership structure will be effective by July 1, 2016.
In a press statement, Ericsson explained that Jean-Claude will bring his wide-ranging experience to further develop Ericsson’s offering and support to the Sub-Saharan Africa which is experiencing a transformational developments through digitalization. “Digitalization is impacting all industries, transforming established operating and business models creating new opportunities at an increasing pace”, the statement read in part and continued, “Under his leadership, Ericsson will continue to being fully committed to continue partnering with its customers through this massive transformation as their business partner of choice.”
Jean-Claude has been active in the ICT space for over 25 years. Currently as Global head of Managed Services, he has been instrumental in extending Ericsson’s managed services leadership globally, including here in Africa.
Prior to taking on the role as Head of Managed Services in September 2013, the new Ericsson President for sub-saharan Africa held several key positions in Ericsson including Head of Operations in Region Western & Central Europe and Managing Director for Ericsson in Belgium and Luxemburg. Between 2005 and 2008, he also served as Corporate Vice President for Global Managed Services Delivery at Ericsson and between 2008 and 2009 he was Corporate Vice President for Global Services Delivery for EMEA North.
Before joining Ericsson in 2005, Jean-Claude held a number of different executive positions in North America and in Europe with Operators such as MCI and TeliaSonera.
