Africa’s largest telecoms company, MTN Group has embarked on major management reshuffle across its operations in Africa starting with the appointment of Karl Toriola, current Vice President of MTN Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region, as the new CEO of MTN Nigeria – effective 1 March 2021. Toriola will take over as MTN Nigeria CEO from Ferdi Moolman, who has served MTN Nigeria with distinction in this role for the past five years. Moolman will return to South Africa, where he will assume the new role of Group Chief Risk Officer.
Toriola has a BSc Hons in Electronic and Electrical Engineering and an MSc in Communication Systems. In his five years as VP of MTN’s WECA region, he has overseen the steady progress of the operating companies in the region, notably the turnaround of MTN Ivory Coast and MTN Cameroon over the past two years. In addition, the WECA markets have made significant commercial and strategic strides, including the improvement of market share and the development of mobile financial services. The latter in particular is an important driver of the group’s medium- to long-term growth strategy.
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Since joining the group in 2006, Toriola has also held a number of senior operational roles at MTN, including chief technical officer of MTN Nigeria and CEO of MTN Cameroon. He is also a board member on a number of companies within the group, including MTN Nigeria. His successor for VP of WECA will be announced after the group strategy review is completed by the end of November 2020.
“Karl brings extensive technical and commercial experience, as well as a deep understanding of the Nigeria market to the role,” says MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita.
“Karl started his MTN career in his home country at MTN Nigeria 14 years’ ago and has all the attributes necessary to lead this very important business into the future.”
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Ferdi Moolman who has been appointed as the Group Chief Risk Officer, a new Executive Committee (exco) position – effective from 1 March 2021 joined MTN in 2002 and has held several senior positions within the group in Nigeria and in Iran. He has spent the past five years as the CEO of MTN Nigeria and, as its CFO prior to that. During that time, the company says that significant progress has been made in stabilising the business and setting it on a sustainable growth path. That’s why the management of enterprise-wide risk is integral to MTN’s growth strategy.
Moolman will bring extensive operational and financial experience to the role given his deep knowledge of the MTN Group, its markets and the telecoms sector. He will remain on the board of MTN Nigeria and will in due course be appointed to other material subsidiary boards given his new group responsibility. “Ferdi has been an exemplary leader of MTN Nigeria and has put the business on a sound growth platform for the future,” says MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita.
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“He brings significant strategic, financial and operational experience to the new group risk role, where we want to ensure that our enterprise-wide risk management systems are continuously strengthened and remain resilient as we drive our growth strategy.”
Also, the telco appointed Rahul De – current CMO of MTN Nigeria – to CEO of its operations in Liberia – starting 1 November. replaces Uche Ofodile who departed Lonestar Cell MTN in July to become the CEO of MTN Benin. With 23 years of experience in the telco space, ranging across multiple geographies, De has spent the last two decades in senior leadership roles driving growth and leading business transformation.
“I would like to congratulate Rahul on his appointment,” says Mupita. “Rahul is a seasoned leader renowned for driving innovative digital and FinTech advancement in our business and in the telecommunications industry.”
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry