Subscribe

New MTN CEO to start in March

Paula Gilbert
By Paula Gilbert, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 24 Oct 2016
Rob Shuter will take over as MTN CEO on 13 March, when Phuthuma Nhleko will revert to his role as non-executive chairman.
Rob Shuter will take over as MTN CEO on 13 March, when Phuthuma Nhleko will revert to his role as non-executive chairman.

MTN's new CEO and group president, Rob Shuter, will officially start work at the telecoms operator on 13 March 2017. MTN made the announcement in its quarterly update for the period ended 30 September 2016, released this morning on SENS.

Shuter was appointed as the next MTN CEO in June but at the time the company said he would take up the role "as soon as it is practically possible in 2017 but not later than 1 July 2017". This after he completes his contractual obligations at Vodafone, where he is currently CEO of the European cluster.

MTN group executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko will revert to his role as non-executive chairman as soon as Shuter takes over, but until then will continue as executive chairman "to provide oversight". He says he will delegate more operational responsibilities to Gunter Engling, acting CFO, and Stephen Van Coller, VP for M&A and strategy.

"I will also ensure all outstanding senior management appointments are completed and the new senior management team is fully settled in before year-end."

Nhleko has been steering the MTN ship since Sifiso Dabengwa resigned as CEO in early November 2015, just a few weeks after the company announced it was facing a $5.2 billion (R71 billion at the time) fine from the Nigerian Communications Commission for failing to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards in the country. On 10 June 2016, after months of negotiations, MTN agreed to pay $1.671 billion (R25 billion at the time) to the federal government of Nigeria, in six instalments over three years, to settle the fine.

Shuter's appointment in June was met with some pushback from the Black Management Forum, which at the time said it believed MTN's decision not to appoint a black CEO was "a serious blow to transformation".

Major MTN shareholder, the Public Investment Corporation, also said it "would have preferred a black CEO" but that it expected Shuter's appointment to "strengthen risk management and governance at MTN".

MTN said at the time of his appointment that he would bring experience and new insights to the role due to his many years in the telecoms sector, both in Africa and Europe, as well as in banking where his expertise will help "as MTN continues to develop its new business strategy".

Shuter held senior management roles at Vodacom, Standard Bank and Nedbank prior to joining Vodafone.

MTN now has 234.7 million customers in 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East.

Share