Wim Vanhelleputte, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Uganda, is set to leave his position as the telecom giant shakes up its operations on the continent.
Wim Vanhelleputte is now heading to West Africa where he has been appointed MTN Group’s Chief Operations Executive, a newly created role, to oversee Liberia, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, and Congo-Brazzaville, effective 1 August 2022.
“In this position, he will leverage his experience in furthering financial inclusion and strengthening MTN’s position as a market leader,” MTN Group announced in a statement on Thursday, 30 June 2022.
He will be replaced by Sylvia Mulinge, who is currently serving as the Chief Consumer Business Officer at Safaricom PLC.
MTN Rwanda CEO Mitwa Ng’ambi becomes CEO of MTN Cameroon, replacing Stephen Blewett, who is leaving the Group.
Ng’ambi oversaw the listing of MTN Rwanda as well as the establishment of its fintech subsidiary. She was instrumental in strengthening the business’s stakeholder engagement and has also worked in MTN’s Benin and Zambian operations.
MTN South Africa Chief Consumer Officer Mapula Bodibe takes the helm at MTN Rwanda, bringing with her more than 15 years’ experience with MTN, including in Uganda.
MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita in a statement issued on Thursday, June 30, 2022, said the changes are in line with the company’s plan to support the accelerated execution of their Ambition 2025 strategy.
“The appointment of these executives, all with strong track records of execution and results, adds to our confidence on delivery of our Ambition 2025 strategy”. says MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita.
Since 2016, Wim Vanhelleputte has been at the helm of MTN Uganda as Chief Executive Officer. He has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications sector, with previous senior roles including CEO of Millicom in Senegal and CEO of Orascom in Chad and Gabon.
In his six-year tenure as CEO of MTN Ivory Coast, he transformed it into a fully integrated telecommunications player, offering convergent services in mobile, fixed and data.
In Uganda, Wim has defined the brand’s digital ambitions and drive the financial inclusion agenda, both being key to realizing MTN’s vision for the foreseeable future. Under his leadership, MTN has managed to hold off a resurgent competition and consolidate its market leadership currently at 55%.
Wim is a graduate of the State University of Ghent, Belgium, where he earned a master’s degree in Nuclear & Solid-State Physics, and bachelor’s degree in General Engineering.