Willem Marais has been appointed as Liquid Telecom's new Chief Business Development Officer, a role created by the company in light of expansion plans into new markets.

In a statement, Liquid Telecom, a subsidiary of Econet Global, said Marais will continue to lead the wholesale data business where his focus includes sales and product management for mobile and fixed line operators, global carriers, services providers and OTTs.

His responsibilities include new market growth, strategic partnerships, large infrastructure projects and acquisitive growth.

"This will provide additional management support as Liquid Telecom invests in and further leverages its extensive fibre footprint, which stretches over 50,000km. Through the provision of more value-added services, Liquid Telecom is delivering on its vision of building Africa's digital future," read part of the company's statement.

Nic Rudnick, Group CEO, Liquid Telecom, said, "In his new role, Willem will help us to identify and target those opportunities where we can add the most value."

Marais described Liquid Telecom's network and data centre infrastructure as an enabler of digital disruption and innovation in Africa.

"In my new role, I'm looking forward to building on our current capabilities, finding new ways to collaborate with the wider technology and telecoms ecosystem to bring about further digital transformation and providing focussed and value-added services to our customers," he said.

Marais joined Liquid Telecom in May 2015 as CEO for South Africa, having previously served as CCO at SEACOM where he led the sales, product, marketing and commercial teams.

He also previously held numerous senior management positions in the ICT, media and telecoms industries, including the Siemens Group of companies.