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MTN Irancell announces new CEO

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 21 Feb 2019
MTN has made two new appointments to associate companies.
MTN has made two new appointments to associate companies.

MTN Irancell, an associate company of the MTN group, has announce the appointment of Dr Bijan Abbasi Arand as its new CEO.

He replaces Alireza Ghalambor Dezfouli, who is retiring after serving as CEO of MTN Irancell since its inception in 2005.

MTN says Dezfouli has played an integral role in building Irancell into a major business serving more than 40 million customers and becoming the largest data operator in Iran.

Abbasi holds a post-doctoral degree in communication from Tarbiat Modares University, where he is currently an assistant professor. MTN says he is one of the leading telecommunications experts in Iran and brings decades of experience in both the academic and commercial sectors.

Simfy Africa appointment

MTN has also announced the appointment of Oyebowale Akideinde as head of over-the-top (OTT) music services at newly acquired music streaming entity, Simfy Africa.

At AfricaCom in Cape Town in November 2018, MTN group CEO Rob Shuter announced MTN had bought the music-streaming business.

MTN says Akideinde's appointment was effective as of 1 February 2019 and will enhance the company's digital music streaming services to its customers across Africa and the Middle East.

Oyebowale joins MTN from Boomplay Music, where he served as regional director for West Africa. His career spans over 17 years, primarily in consumer goods, e-business, financial, media and digital sectors. He has also worked in IT, project management, strategy, product and business development and marketing.

He holds an MSc in business information systems from the University of Hertfordshire, a BSc in computer science from the University of Lagos and a general music studies specialist certificate from Berklee College of Music.

"We are very pleased about Oye's appointment as he brings passion and knowledge of the rich media industry. This will stand him in good stead to support MTN's expansion of OTT digital services to our customers," Shuter said.

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