Deon Geyser, who recently served as the CEO of Liquid Networks under Cassava Technologies and previously held the position of CEO at Liquid Telecom South Africa, has stepped down from his role.
His resignation comes as a surprise, especially since he was promoted to the role in February 2025. In his capacity as CEO, Geyser oversaw the company’s connectivity operations across Africa, which included Liquid’s fibre, satellite, wireless, and wholesale voice and connectivity services.
While neither Cassava nor Liquid Intelligent Technologies released an official statement regarding Geyser’s resignation, Liquid confirmed the news when approached for comments. “Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa acknowledges that Deon Geyser has chosen to explore new opportunities outside of the organization,” the company stated. They expressed gratitude for his contributions and wished him well in his future endeavours.
Geyser indicated that his last day with Liquid was on Monday, June 30, 2025, marking the end of a remarkable chapter in his career. “Over the past four and a half years, my team and I successfully implemented a comprehensive transformation strategy across the business,” he shared.
He noted that this enhancement initiative led to a focused market strategy, improvements in operational excellence, and financial discipline. The program also facilitated a rebranding from Liquid Telecom to Liquid Intelligent Technologies, fostered an inclusive corporate culture, and established a robust framework for employee engagement and talent development.
“As a result, we have seen a notable improvement in our net promoter scores, customer trust, and loyalty, as well as significant returns for shareholders, characterized by leading growth rates in revenue, EBITDA, and free cash flow,” Geyser remarked. He extended his thanks to customers, employees, partners, shareholders, and the management team for their trust and support during his time at Liquid.
Geyser’s exit occurs during a challenging financial period for both Liquid Group and its subsidiary, Liquid Intelligent Technologies.
In December, Cassava revealed that it had secured US$90 million from investors, including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), and Google. Additionally, Liquid Intelligent Technologies refinanced its long-term loans, obtaining a new R4 billion debt facility from Standard Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank, and the International Finance Corporation.
This fresh capital and refinancing were crucial for Cassava to uphold its loan covenants and avert a liquidity crisis. Despite these funding efforts, credit rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s had downgraded Liquid Telecom’s credit rating the previous year, citing concerns over the effectiveness of the restructuring and the potential for not receiving the necessary equity infusion.
While Liquid Telecom reported having US$57 million in cash reserves, it was mentioned that US$43 million had been drawn from a revolving credit facility by the end of the 2024 financial year. The cash reserves further declined to US$48 million in the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, creating pressure against operational needs.
Fitch observed that for Liquid to default on its loans, several unfavourable conditions would need to occur, including increased competition, technological risks, loss of key contracts, adverse regulatory actions, or significant currency depreciation. These factors could lead to financial losses and reputational damage.
Nonetheless, Fitch also cautioned that Liquid could face further downgrades if there is no progress in refinancing existing debts or if management fails to implement effective operating performance improvements, leading to negative cash flow trends.
