Discover the Story behind NEC XON
Welcome to NEC XON, where we believe in the power of technology to shape a better, more connected world. XON Founded in 1996 and now majority owned by NEC Corporation, combining the best of both companies to deliver innovative solutions that empower businesses and individuals across the globe. Our information and communication technology (ICT) expertise has made us a trusted partner for organisations seeking to drive digital transformation and unlock new possibilities.
Level 1 B-BBEE Certification
We are a level 1 BBBEE business that embraces social responsibility and upliftment. Kapela ITC (Pty) Ltd, a BEE investment business, owns a 30.00% stake in XON and Kapela Holdings Executive Director Israel Skosana is now chairman of the board of XON while Kapela Holdings non-Executive Director Daphne Motsepe also serves as a Non-Executive Director of XON.
After an 18-month process we selected Kapela Holdings as our BEE partner because the company has the right credentials and the executive team has exemplary business experience, in the right sectors, to attract the continued growth we want. They have an enormous amount of experience in growing large, listed entities and we need that calibre of support to help us maintain and exceed the significant growth we have experienced in the past five years.
Kapela Holdings has a hands-on approach to business and believes XON has the necessary infrastructure, skills and expertise to continue to grow as a significant player in the ICT industry.
Prior to Kapela, in 2003, we had signed an empowerment agreement with Lungisa Technologies, which resulted in a then BEE ownership of over 40%. Lungisa Technologies was an empowerment company headed up by Don Ncube, one of the icons of business in South Africa.
NEC XON is proud to be a South African business and we embrace the country’s multi-cultural heritage. We are committed to broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) through the guidelines provided by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and are proud of our history of activity in that regard
After an 18-month process we selected Kapela Holdings as our BEE partner because the company has the right credentials and the executive team has exemplary business experience, in the right sectors, to attract the continued growth we want. They have an enormous amount of experience in growing large, listed entities and we need that calibre of support to help us maintain and exceed the significant growth we have experienced in the past five years.
Kapela Holdings has a hands-on approach to business and believes XON has the necessary infrastructure, skills and expertise to continue to grow as a significant player in the ICT industry.
Prior to Kapela, in 2003, we had signed an empowerment agreement with Lungisa Technologies, which resulted in a then BEE ownership of over 40%. Lungisa Technologies was an empowerment company headed up by Don Ncube, one of the icons of business in South Africa.
NEC XON is proud to be a South African business and we embrace the country’s multi-cultural heritage. We are committed to broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) through the guidelines provided by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and are proud of our history of activity in that regard
Meet the Executive Leadership Team
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Daphne Motsepe / Non-Executive Chairperson
Daphne Motsepe is Non-Executive Director at NEC XON. She brings decades of leadership and management experience in banking to her executive oversight role and was Chief Executive of the ABSA Unsecured Lending Cluster until 2012. Her portfolio included Personal Loans, Woolworths Financial Services, ALLPAY, and Entry-Level and Small Business banking. She was at Barclays Bank in London for a year and previously served as MD of Postbank. Daphne has served as the Deputy Chairman of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into access to finance and was named CEO magazine’s most influential woman in South Africa’s finance and banking in 2017. She has served on the boards of Mercantile Bank, Rand Mutual Assurance and on the Exco of CGAP, an international organisation with headquarters in Washington DC. |
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Professor Fatima Abrahams / Non-Executive Director
Fatima Abrahams is an Executive Director and shareholder of Kapela Investments and Kapela Investments Holdings and is a Non-Executive Director of a number of investee companies such as BPSA, Marsh, NEC XON, and Toyota Tsusho. She is also a Non-Executive Director of a number of listed companies, such as The Foschini Group, Lewis Group, and Clicks Group. She has developed formidable business acumen serving on a number of board subcommittees over the years, including social and ethics, remuneration, audit, and risk, and is chair of several. She is also a part-time professor in the Department of Industrial Psychology at University of the Western Cape (UWC). She has been Departmental Chairperson and Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences in the past. Fatima is known for her academic work, has presented papers at international and national conferences, and has been published in a number of journals and academic texts on HR and related matters. She has consulted to the private and public sectors, focusing on HR issues such as organisational development, diversity management and employment equity/transformation, selection and recruitment, strategic planning, training, and team building. |
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Carel Coetzee / Founder & CEO
Carel Coetzee is one of the founders and the Chief Executive Officer of NEC XON. Carel is passionate about how technology is driving change in society across Africa and how organisations can innovate new solutions to the continent’s most urgent challenges. Most notably, providing safer, more secure societies, narrowing the inequality gap, producing more with less, and developing a better quality of life for all. He formulates strategy for the group across its sub-Saharan Africa operations and leads the execution of that strategy. He is also the Executive responsible for integrating the NEC XON operations as the business continues to expand its markets, market share, and scope of operations. |
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Kentaro Maekawa
Kentaro Maekawa is the GM of the Global Relations Division at NEC Corporation. He is a 23-year NEC veteran who works with the United Nations (UN) to contribute to achieving sustainable development goals (SDG) through NEC’s cutting-edge technology. In 2013 Maekawa embedded himself in NEC Africa for five years to learn and gain deep insights into the business culture in sub-Saharan Africa. He plays a pivotal role in delivering NEC’s vision for creating Smart Cities where people can live, work, and play safely and comfortably while harmonising their existence with the environment using advanced technologies and solutions. |
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Johann Coetzee / Executive Vice President
Johann Coetzee is Executive VP of NEC XON. Johann is a key proponent of the organisation’s growth strategy throughout sub-Saharan Africa and actively pursues broader market sector penetration. He has developed a wealth of expertise in over 27 years of experience growing ICT organisations. His executive leadership role encompasses NEC XON’s Safety, Infrastructure, Communications, and Digital Clusters supported by relationships with top vendors in their categories worldwide. Johann spearheads NEC XON’s delivery of related solutions and automated services capabilities, deep regional innovation, and a compelling value proposition for government, carriers, mobile operators, service providers and enterprises. |
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Yuko (née Takechi) Yoshida
Yuko Yoshida (née Takechi) obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Policy Management from Keio University in 1997, after which she joined NEC and started her career working in financial planning and analysis in the telecommunications industry. Her over 20 years in corporate planning and FP&A include leadership roles in finance, business strategy, business planning and mergers & acquisitions. Her time with NEC also included working in NEC Europe for 5 years. Since November 2021, she has led NEC’s Global Strategy Division. |
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Bart van Buynder / Chief Operating Officer
Bart van Buynder is the Chief Operating Officer of NEC XON. Bart is committed to creating ground-breaking operational structures to support dynamic global governance requirements. He has demonstrated deep executive leadership capacities at some of South Africa’s largest commercial agriculture organisations. He has managed audit compliance testing, developed and grown high-value distribution and reseller strategies, and serves as an Executive on the board of Directors. |
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Mitsuhiro Murooka
Mitsuhiro has twenty years of global business experience in ICT management roles, including time in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Silicon Valley and Melbourne. Mitsuhiro started his career developing mission-critical business infrastructure in EMEA, and in 1994 was named General Manager of NEC Hong Kong Ltd’s ICT Business Solutions & Services. In 2003, he established NEC Information Systems Ltd in Shanghai as its first President. In 2009, he relocated to Silicon Valley, California, serving as Vice President managing the IT & NW telecommunication and enterprise business for NEC Corporation of America, followed by a promotion to General Manager of the Americas Division – and subsequently Global Corporate Sales Division in Tokyo. He currently serves as an Executive Vice President & CCO responsible for global business. Mitsuhiro earned his MBA from the University of Hong Kong in 2003. He received his Bachelor of Economics from Aoyama Gakuin University and completed the Hitotsubashi Senior Executive Programme at Hitotsubashi University – Graduate School of Commerce and Management. |
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Kavish Naidoo / Chief Financial Officer
Kavish Naidoo, Chief Financial Officer of NEC XON, has grown and developed with the company since joining in 2007. Kavish’s profound insight into NEC XON's operation made him the prime candidate to oversee its financial management. Kavish’s knowledge and expertise shape the financial structure required to support NEC XON’s agile, innovative and technologically diverse business. Kavish is passionate about financial planning, strategic analysis and evolving finance so that it directly contributes to organisational growth. |