The outgoing president and CEO of MTN Group Robert Shutter has announced that he will pitch his tent with  BT Group (formerly British Telecom) as CEO of the company’s Enterprise unit and will become a member of BT’s executive committee.

Shuter, who announced earlier this year that he would leave MTN in March 2021, was CEO of Vodafone’s European cluster before he returned to South Africa to join MTN. He is also a previous chief financial officer at Vodacom Group and has held senior roles in South Africa’s banking sector.

“I’m delighted to welcome Rob to BT. He brings a wealth of international telecommunications experience and has a track record of driving innovation in business and consumer markets,” said BT Group CEO Philip Jansen in a statement on Friday. “This will make him ideally suited to drive forward the support we provide to UK businesses and public sector organisations. The UK’s economic recovery will depend on their success and BT wants to play a key part in supporting these critical parts of the economy.”

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Shuter will replace Gerry McQuade at BT Enterprise. McQuade is retiring after more than a decade with the group. BT Enterprise is the largest business communications provider in the UK. It generated £6.1-billion in revenue and £1.2-billion in operating profit in the March 2020 financial year.

Speaking in March, when he announced his plan to leave MTN Shutter said that leading the South African-headquartered group came at “an enormous sacrifice”, adding that he loved his time at MTN. “It’s been the greatest privilege of my working career, but it’s been enormously challenging,”  noting that “we are on the road for more than half the month. I get home from Nigeria and the dogs bark at me,” he joked at the time.

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He will step down from his role at the end of his fixed four-year contract in March 2021. “I came in on a fixed four-year contract. I will pass the baton on and take a well-deserved rest,” he said.On Shuter’s watch, MTN has successfully navigated major regulatory challenges, most notably in Nigeria, and he’s helped put the group back on a solid growth trajectory.  

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