Chose Choeu.
Photo: Supplied

He has been one of the shining stars in the corporate world of the post-apartheid era, having started as teacher in Kuruman in 1978 and climbing the ladder until he became Eskom’s Divisional Executive of Corporate Affairs from 2010 until December 2018.

Proud UFS Qwaqwa Campus alumnus

He is Chose Choeu, a proud alumnus of the Qwaqwa Campus. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts cum laude, majoring in Political Science, History, and Psychology at the then University of the North (Qwaqwa branch) in 1987. The first degree was immediately followed in 1988 by a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) cum laude, majoring in Political Science. He went on to study for a master’s degree in International Relations on a Fulbright scholarship at the University of Denver in the United States of America in 1991. He then read for a master’s degree in South African Political Economy at the then University of Port Elizabeth in 2004.

He is one of the very few whose CV reflect having worked in the SA Parliament at the advent of democracy in South Africa, and ultimately reaching the high echelons of corporate South Africa. His stint as clerk at the table of Senate in 1994 was followed by a role as undersecretary to Parliament from January 1995 to December 1996. 

With the introduction of the new constitution in 1996, he then became the Acting Secretary of the newly constituted National Council of Provinces in January 1997, a position he held for a year.

Number of board memberships

He answered the call to join corporate South Africa when he became Telkom’s Executive of Regulatory and Government Relations from 1998 until 2003. He then moved to Microsoft, where he became the Director: Legal and Corporate Affairs, a position he would hold for the next seven years until 2010.

Choeu has served and continues to serve in a number of positions in various entities that include board memberships. He is a board member and the immediate past President of the Information Technology Association of South Africa, the official trade and employer body of the information technology industry in South Africa, representing more than 200 companies supplying information technology equipment, systems, software, and services. Prominent members include Microsoft SA, Siemens, SAP, Axiz, IBM, etc.

Some of the companies he currently serves in a variety of positions are the Black IT Forum (BITF), the Institute of Directors in South Africa, Centlec, and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).