Michael Jordaan, Mxit

Mxit has announced that Michael Jordaan has been appointed as chairman of its board of directors.

Jordaan is the former CEO of First National Bank and a recent recipient of the CNBC Africa Business Leader of the Year for Southern Africa award.

He takes over from Roger Grobler, who remains on the board as non-executive director.

In a statement released by Mxit, CEO Francois Swart said Jordaan’s appointment is a great coup for the company. “I am sure he has been inundated with offers, and to become part of the Mxit team is a vindication of the direction we have taken and the innovation that is happening within Mxit.”

Mxit’s shareholders are equally excited about Jordaan’s new position, with key shareholder Paul Harris quoted as saying a business heavyweight of Jordaan’s calibre on the board of directors is a sign of great things to come from Mxit.

In the statement, Jordaan said he is looking forward to playing a part in the future of Mxit, both in SA and internationally.

“Mxit is a really cool company and has built some world-first innovations over the last eight years. I have spent some time with their development and design team and they have shown me some of the projects they are working on, especially in the smartphone space. I look forward to the announcements that are planned over the next few months.”

Mxit recently announced its monthly active base of 7.4 million users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on the mobile social network. It has 7.4 million monthly active users, of which 6.5 million are in SA.