From stabilising operations to strengthening South Africa’s fibre future, Evotel, top Fibre Network Operator (FNO) enters a new era under its newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Adele Grabe – visionary for sustainable growth.

Leadership transitions often mark defining moments in the life of an organisation, and for Evotel, based in Krammerville, Sandton, the official appointment of Grabe as Chief Executive Officer, in June 2026, has signaled more than a change in title, but represents the beginning of a new phase.

A phase focused on operational excellence, sustainable growth and delivering an even better experience to internet users across South Africa.

Having joined Evotel in December 2025 as part of the company’s executive leadership team, Grabe stepped into a business that had already built an impressive national fibre footprint that just needed a touch of magic fingers to take a completely new direction.

Her first seven months, however, were anything but ordinary, as the storm seemed very hard to overcome, but she held her own under difficult conditions, with her umbrella completely torn apart, and she held on until the heavy rain stopped.

Speaking to this publication from Durban, where she is also looking after LinkLayer, another FNO, Grabe admitted that “it has been a big challenge”. 

“The pressure was to move the business into a growth cycle while making sure the network remained stable. That meant optimising workloads, automating where possible, improving efficiencies and ensuring every decision contributes to long-term sustainability,” she said.

With 10 years in the fibre industry, Grabe has established a reputation for operational leadership, strategic planning and building high-performing teams. 

Before joining Evotel, she held senior leadership roles across the fibre and connectivity sector, earning respect for her ability to improve operational performance while keeping customers at the centre of every decision. 

Her career has been shaped by a practical understanding of network operations, service delivery and business transformation.

Those qualities have become increasingly valuable as South Africa’s fibre market matures.

Unlike the early years of fibre deployment, today’s challenge is no longer simply about laying cables but maintaining resilient networks, improving customer experiences, reducing downtime and creating sustainable value in an increasingly competitive industry.

That is precisely where Grabe has directed her attention.

Reflecting on the past six months, Grabe says the focus has been on strengthening the foundations of the business.

Rather than introducing dramatic changes for the sake of appearances, the leadership team concentrated on identifying the root causes of operational challenges and systematically addressing them.

“We first had to understand where the problems were,” she hinted at part of her plans.

“I remember telling Albert (Oosthuysen, Evotel founder) that you cannot decorate the front door by painting it while the building still on fire (simply meaning something needs structural work). We had to fix the fundamentals before anything else.”

This involved reviewing internal workflows, streamlining system integrations, improving turnaround times and eliminating unnecessary manual processes that had developed over time.

The results are already becoming visible – service turnaround times have improved, operational visibility has increased and departments are working together more efficiently. 

Every Evotel employee, according to her, “now” has a clearer understanding of how their individual role contributes to the company’s overall service delivery.

“The smallest task matters. Every person forms part of a much larger workflow. When every step works efficiently, the customer experiences the difference,” added Grabe. 

Evotel has spent the past decade expanding its fibre footprint across South Africa, connecting thousands of homes and businesses while helping bridge the country’s digital divide. 

The company’s rapid expansion has positioned it as one of the country’s significant open-access fibre network operators, serving multiple Internet Service Provider (ISP) partners, as a part of the CYNK Group.

Now, attention is shifting from rapid expansion to network maturity.

For Grabe, protecting the integrity of the existing infrastructure is just as important as extending it.

“Our priority is ensuring the network remains stable, reliable and proactively maintained. We want to prevent problems before customers even notice them,” said Grobe.

Maintenance teams continue to improve fault response times while Evotel works closely with contractors and ISP partners to resolve customer issues faster.

Communication has also become a key priority, she says: “In any service business, uncertainty creates frustration. Even when there is a problem, customers want to know what is happening. That is why proactive communication is becoming part of our culture.”

The company has already seen encouraging improvements in customer feedback and service compliments as operational consistency continues to improve.

As competition within South Africa’s fibre market intensifies, customer retention has become just as important as customer acquisition.

Rather than reacting impulsively to every market shift, Grabe believes Evotel’s strength will come from disciplined planning: “Every investment we make today must still make sense years from now. We don’t want quick fixes. We want sustainable solutions.”

Over the past several months, Evotel has successfully reduced expenditure, improved operational efficiencies and strengthened its financial position while continuing to invest in service quality.

Every project, every process and every rand spent is now measured against one central objective: creating lasting value for customers and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the network.

While Grabe acknowledges there is still work ahead, she is optimistic about the future.

The next phase will focus on improving network performance, reducing customer churn, enhancing service delivery and continuing to strengthen relationships with ISP partners.

“We’re not chasing perfection overnight. We’re tackling every challenge one step at a time. The important thing is that we’re moving in the right direction,” she said.

Her message to the Evotel team is equally clear: “This is about building together. Every employee contributes to the success of this business. We’ve already made significant progress, and now we continue that journey as one team.”