CFO Ralph Mupita to take over as MTN CEO

MTN has announced that group CFO Ralph Mupita will take over as the new group CEO and president next month.

The news of the leadership change does not come as a surprise as current CEO Rob Shuter had already announced his departure from MTN back in March 2020, saying he would not renew his four-year contract when it comes to an end in March 2021.

Mupita was also an obvious choice to be promoted to CEO after serving as MTN Group CFO since April 2017.

MTN said in a statement that Mupita has "played a critical role in the development and execution of the group's strategy, capital allocation processes, financial performance as well as in the resolution of a number of complex regulatory matters."

MTN Group CFO Ralph Mupita will take over as the new Group CEO in September 2020.

Last month Shuter confirmed he would take over as CEO of BT Enterprise when he leaves MTN.

What is a surprise is that the market was expecting Shuter to only step down in March next year, but MTN today said Shuter will step down from his executive responsibilities on August 31, 2020 and "will thereafter support Ralph as required until the end of his fixed-term contract early next year". Officially Mupita will be the new CEO on September 1.

"After a rigorous and extensive search process, we are pleased to have appointed someone of Ralph's calibre, experience and ability to fill the group president and CEO position," said MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas.

"Ralph's experience as the group CFO, strong knowledge of our businesses and markets, as well as successful background in financial services, M&A and emerging markets, place him in an excellent position to lead the growth and sustainability of the business going forward," he added.

Before joining MTN as CFO Mupita spent five years as the CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, a business that provided financial services to individuals and corporates across 19 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, managing over R1 trillion ($58 billion) of customer assets under management at the time. He is a graduate of the University of Cape Town with a degree in Engineering and an MBA.

MTN said an update on who will replace him as group CFO will be made by September 1, 2020.

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa