Almost a year after Alan Knott-Craig Jr stepped down as Mxit chief executive officer (CEO), the social network has announced his official replacement in the form of Francois Swart.

Swart had been acting CEO for the past eleven months at Mxit following the abrupt resignation of then boss, Alan Knott-Craig Jr.

But Mxit has finally cemented Swart’s position as CEO

“Francois has been the de facto CEO for almost a year now and has the respect and trust of his management team, staff and the shareholders,” Mxit shareholder Paul Harris has said in a statement.

“Mxit is in a great position right now and this is in part due to the leadership he has displayed,” Harris added.

Swart has said of his appointment, “It’s an exciting time to be leading Mxit.”

"The mobile landscape is a very dynamic and competitive space, much more so now than when Mxit first entered the market. What we have lacked in the past is a strong smartphone presence. But that is changing,” added Swart.

The former Mxit chief financial officer takes up the position as the company has lost its number one status as South Africa’s biggest social network.

Earlier this month, research firm World Wide Worx and social media monitoring firm Fuseware revealed that Facebook has overtaken Mxit to become South Africa’s largest network.

According to the researchers, Facebook has 9.4 active users while Mxit has 7.4 million users in South Africa.