Showmax CEO Yolisa Phahle is leaving the African streamer after nearly two decades.
The CEO of Showmax parent MultiChoice Calvo Mawela announced Phahle’s exit with “mixed emotions” in a note to staff. Marc Jury became interim Showmax CEO on September 1 as a search for the full-time successor is found.
Phahle will provide “full time advisory support” to Jury for the next six months. From March 2024, Phahle will continue to consult for another 12 months, reporting to Jury, who will lead both Showmax and MultiChoice’s South African operations.
“In what could be characterised as the end of an era defined by a solid career and almost two decades with the Group, it is with mixed emotions to announce that our Showmax CEO, Yolisa Phahle, is making her way into the next chapter of her career,” wrote Calvo.
“Discussions have been underway with an understanding that she will be entering the retirement phase of her career in the near future, thus the need for a seamless transition.”
Phahle joined MultiChoice network M-Net in 2005 as General Manager of Channel O and worked her way up to Channels Director for Local Channels in South Africa, where she launched the popular Mzansi Magic networks. She became M-Net CEO in 2015 and then moved to lead pan-Africa streamer Showmax, where she has led a push into originals and kept the platform competitive with the likes of Netflix and Prime Video.
Her original commissions included Outlaws, The Billionaire’s Wife, Canal+ co-pro Spinners and DAM, which featured as a Deadline Global Breakout back in April. Another drama original, Shaka Ilembe, has just been taken to a second season.
