MTN, SA's second cellular company, has appointed Pieter Verkade as its new group chief commercial officer, effective February.
Currently the CEO of MTN Cyprus, Verkade replaces Christian de Faria, who retires in January after six years with the group. In his new role, Verkade will be responsible for the strategic direction of the innovation, products and services strategy, as well as marketing across the group.
President and CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa says Verkade's "appointment comes at a critical point for MTN, as our operating environment is changing quite rapidly. We have entered a phase where network operators have to compete on more than just products and services.
"We believe that Pieter [Verkade] possesses the right combination of experience and expertise to drive MTN's strategic agenda to deliver relevant and competitive value propositions to our customers across segments," says Dabengwa.
International experience
Verkade's telecoms experience spans developed and emerging markets in Europe and Africa. Before becoming CEO of MTN Cyprus, the Mediterranean country's second-largest mobile operator, Verkade was the executive for commercial strategy and mobile money. In this role, he oversaw the growth and deployment of MTN Mobile Money in 15 MTN markets. MTN's mobile money portfolio has now grown to 8.2 million customers since launch Uganda four years ago.
Verkade was chief marketing officer for MTN SA for a two-year period from 2008. He has operated at c-level in the telecoms sector since 2000 and his roles have included chief commercial officer for Orange (Netherlands), VP of commercial for Orange (London), CFO for KPN/Orange (Belgium) and senior VP for Telenor (Norway).
De Faria joined MTN as VP for the West and Central Africa (WECA) region in 2006 from Indonesia's PT Excelcomindo Pratama mobile operator, of which he was CEO. He was later appointed as senior VP for commercial and innovation and "played a pivotal role" in MTN's major transformation initiatives, including supply chain management, products and services as well as marketing and customer management.
"On behalf of the MTN Group and all our employees, I would like to thank Christian [De Faria] for his sterling contribution to MTN's growth. His energy, enthusiasm and passion for the MTN people, our customers and communities will be missed by all," said Dabengwa.
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