Rob Shuter, MTN CEO
MTN announced the appointment of Rob Shuter, a top Vodafone executive, as its new CEO, as the African operator draws a line under its long-running dispute with the Nigerian government.
Shuter, who is currently serving as chief executive of Vodafone’s European cluster, will join the South Africa based company “as soon as it is practically possible from 2017”, but no later than 1 July next year, after he fulfills his contractual obligations, MTN said in a statement.
Along with the appointment of Shuter, MTN also announced other new additions to its executive team, including Godfrey Motsa, who has been poached from Vodafone’s African subsidiary Vodacom, to become its new VP of south and east Africa.
A new VP M&A and strategy, who will start in October, will also be announced at the end of this month. And the company named new non-executive directors, as part of a move to refresh its board.
“The MTN group board advises that following the successful resolution of the Nigerian dispute, it has completed the review of its governance and management structures in accordance with its undertaking to do so,” the company said.
Earlier this month, MTN agreed to pay nearly $1.7 billion in fines over the next three years, a substantial decrease from the initial $5.2 billion it was ordered to pay the Nigerian government for failing to register almost 5.1 million subscribers using its network in the country.
The situation has seen the resignation of a number high-ranking executives at the company, including CEO Sifiso Dabengwa, who was replaced by veteran Phutuma Nhleko on an interim basis.
Nhleko will revert to his role as executive chairman once Shuter assumes his position, added MTN.
