MTN SA CTIO leaves, two execs replace him

MTN South Africa's Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO) Michele Gamberini has resigned to pursue an opportunity that allows him to be closer to his family in Italy.

Jacqui O'Sullivan, chief of sustainability and corporate affairs at MTN South Africa, told Connecting Africa that Gamberini had left at the end of July after about 18 months at the operator.

Gamberini joined MTN at the beginning of 2022 from Telecom Italia (TIM Group), where he gained 25 years of experience across the business, including as Global Group CTIO.

He replaced Giovanni Chiarelli who resigned in December 2021 after five years at MTN.

Earlier this week, MTN Group announced its half-year results for the period ended June 30, 2023, including a major fintech deal with Mastercard.

MTN South Africa's service revenue grew just 1.9% year-over-year and MTN SA deployed capex of 4.1 billion South African rand (US$215 million), excluding leases, in the six months to help drive network resilience and capacity.

CTIO role divided into two

MTN's leadership took the opportunity of Gamberini's exit to separate the CTIO role into two roles, namely a Chief Technology Officer and an Executive for Information Technology.

"We are delighted to have a long-time MTNer, Rami Farah, join us in South Africa as our new Chief Technology Officer. [Farah] has been with the Group since 2001 and has served as CTO in multiple geographies including MTN Liberia, MTN Rwanda, MTN Uganda and recently MTN Iran where he managed over 16,000 sites," O'Sullivan said.

For the last eight months Farah has been spearheading MTN SA's power resilience project "which has seen the network availability, by end June, at more than 90% availability despite severe electricity shortages across the country," MTN's spokesperson added.

Prior to joining MTN, Farah served in various technology roles in other companies including Spacetel Syria-94, Inteltec S.A.R.L and Lonestar Communications Corporation.

"A tried and tested CTO, [Farah] brings extensive telco experience, spanning more than 22 years, and an illustrious track-record of leading and managing successful technology transformation initiatives, specifically in the network space," O'Sullivan continued.

Farah holds a Master's degree in telecommunication from the Aristotle University in Greece.

He is credited with developing strong technology strategies to support the business and a strong ability to build high-performing teams. He is also one of the mentors to many young technology professionals within the MTN Group, she said.

MTN SA's new Chief Technology Officer Rami Farah and new Executive for Information Technology Nomthi Nelwamondo. (Source: MTN SA)

MTN also appointed Nomthi Nelwamondo as its new Executive for Information Technology, effective from May 1, 2023.

Nelwamondo joined MTN from Assupol Holdings Limited where she served as the Chief Information Officer.

"An accomplished technology executive, [Nelwamondo] brings over 21 years' experience and deep expertise gained through exposure in IT, Networks and Commercial operational roles within Telecommunication and Insurance industries," O'Sullivan added.

Nelwamondo began her career at Telkom and progressed into various leadership roles, including the roles of senior manager for ISP, executive core network operations, executive wholesale services, and group IT managing executive. She was also the CIO at Liquid Telecom South Africa.

O'Sullivan said Nelwamondo is an experienced leader and solutions-driven executive and has a proven track record in managing complex digital transformation programs and operations. This led to her being awarded joint winner of the IITPSA Visionary CIO award in 2020.

She holds an international Honors degree in Software Engineering from Malaysia, a Master's degree in Information Technology from the University of Pretoria, and a Master's degree in Business Leadership (MBL) from the University of South Africa.

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*Top image is of outgoing MTN South Africa CTIO Michele Gamberini. (Source: MTN SA)

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa