Naspers and its Dutch-based subsidiary Prosus, which have drawn investor criticism over two years due to, among other reasons, a complex restructuring, said suddenly yesterday that CEO Bob van Dijk would step down after 10 years of leadership.
Van Dijk became Naspers CEO in 2014 and headed Prosus since its 2019 listing.
Ervin Tu, the group chief investment officer, was appointed Interim CEO. Van Dijk planned to assist with the transition and remain as a consultant to the boards until September, 30, 2024.
Although Naspers and Prosus’ formal announcements did not provide reasons for Van Dijk’s departure, Prosus said in response to a Business Report query that: “Bob and the board mutually agreed it was the right time for Bob to step down and to bring a fresh perspective to the CEO role. Bob had been at the helm of the group for 10 years, and with the completion of the recent simplification deal, there was a natural juncture for Bob to depart.”
Chairman Koos Bekker said in an investor call that it might take some months before a full-time CEO was appointed, as the board would review the group’s strategy for the next 10 years and “see what kind of jockey we need to have in the saddle”, and then a formal search process would begin, and this would all take time.
Tu would run the group with the full powers and authority of the board - “the captain of a ship can’t take half decisions”, said Bekker. He said Tu would also be a “strong candidate” for the full-time role.
Gryphon Asset Management portfolio management Kasparus Treurnicht said Van Dijk’s departure was not a surprise as many investors were unhappy with the group’s management over the past two years, such as with its restructuring that led to Prosus’ listing, and the discount at which the group trades to its major investment in Chinese internet group Tencent.
“Van Dijk’s major decisions over the past 10 years would have needed chairman and major shareholder Koos Bekker’s approval, and Van Dijk took the fall. The discount is narrowing, but will probably only go away if the entire stake in Tencent is sold, and I don’t expect this for a long time…it’s one small step at a time,” said Treurnicht.
Naspers said in a statement that their strategic goals remained unchanged and it was on target to deliver on its commitments, including reporting a consolidated e-commerce trading profit in the first half of the 2025 financial year, and the continuation of the share repurchases.
Prosus said in a statement: “Bob established the group as a leading global consumer internet company, creating significant value for shareholders. The boards sincerely thank Bob for his leadership and contribution.”
“During this time substantial businesses were established in Classifieds, Food Delivery and Payments, while we also entered several new fields.” said Bekker.
He said Tu becoming interim CEO was “a seamless transition”.
“As the chief investment officer, he made significant contributions to the strategic direction of the company and will provide continuity in the execution of key priorities,” said Bekker.
This included bringing the consolidated e-commerce portfolio to profitability while maintaining growth, and leading capital allocation across the group.
Tu said the strategy remained to compound investment value and invest with discipline, and the group would be managed from an operator’s and from an investor’s perspective, depending on circumstances, and for instance, in the past 18 months, it was focused on being a better operator of its investments due to the difficult markets.
He said they were fortunate to be in a good cash position, but new investments would only be made where the investment would further the strategy of being able to compound value over time.
Bekker said they rated Tencent as “one of the best technology companies in the world”, and “we don’t want to sell too much (of their stake in Tencent)”.
Prosus is a global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world.
BUSINESS REPORT