Orange Business Services has appointed Mark McCallum, as the new Country Manager for South Africa, effective immediately.

A statement from company confirms that McCallum will take over the management role from Yannick Decaux, who has moved on to a new position within the Orange Group.

As Country Manager, Mark will be responsible for the overall business growth strategy of Orange Business Services in South Africa.

"Having led Global Solutions for Africa at Orange Business Services, Mark has conducted business in more than 20 African countries, making him well versed in the complexities of delivering solutions and services on the African continent and beyond. He is passionate about the African market and has extensive experience, especially in the managed IT services space," the statement reads.

Luc Serviant, Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Orange Business Services, said,"Orange Business Services is helping companies across Africa and globally to harness the power of future-proof digital solutions and flexible IT. In light of the wave of digital transformation that is changing the business landscape for enterprises, government bodies and service providers in Africa, I am delighted to appoint Mark to help us drive our business here."

McCallum also outlined the company's Africa strategy going forward. "Orange is focused on supporting enterprise transformation and the adoption of digital technologies to mitigate the tough economic times many enterprises face in Africa. We will continue on this path to engage and deliver value to our existing international customers who are either already present in Africa or who are expanding in the region and across the globe."

McCallum holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

In May he expressed the view that Africa's profile as an investment opportunity for businesses has continued to grow over the past decade and businesses, specifically those entering the region, are open to the opportunities digital transformation offers.

"For example, competition in the more mature markets in Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya) is becoming more intense, especially for IT and Telcommunication companies. To remain competitive and profitable, telcos are realising that there is need to move beyond traditional connectivity offerings and provide IT services such as unified communications and collaboration, cloud, and datacenter services – and this is changing the way businesses in Africa approach their IT strategies," he said.