Presenters
Meet the presentersFor more than a quarter of a century, MTN has had an ambitious and pioneering spirit, playing a bold and prominent role in accelerating Africa’s development. Our ambition has always been to brighten lives through the power of connectivity, and this continues to be a priority for us.
MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita, supported by members of MTN's strong, diverse and experienced executive and senior management will be unpacking the progress and provide details on the market and platform development to date.
Before taking the helm of MTN in September 2020, Ralph served as the Group Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to joining MTN, Ralph served as the Chief Executive Officer for Old Mutual Emerging Markets, providing financial service solutions to individuals and corporates across 19 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Ralph is a seasoned business leader with experience in engineering, construction, financial services and telecommunications. Since joining MTN, Ralph has played a pivotal role in the strengthening the Group's financial position, strategy formulation and successful listing of the MTN Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda subsidiaries, as well as leading the execution of the current MTN Group strategy, Ambition 2025.
Dr Rashad Cassim is a deputy governor of the SARB and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. He oversees the Financial Markets and International Cluster, responsible for financial markets, international economic relations and policy, and legal services.
Before the rotation of the deputy governors on 1 April 2022, he oversaw the Financial Stability and Currency Cluster. He also served as Chairperson of the Irving Fischer Committee on Central Bank Statistics within the Bank for International Settlements.
Prior to joining the SARB, Dr Cassim served as the Deputy Director-General for economic statistics at Statistics South Africa, which included responsibility for the production of inflation and gross domestic product statistics. Before that, he was a professor and Head of the School of Economics and Business Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand. Dr Cassim has also held various research and academic positions at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He holds a Master's degree in Economic History and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economics from UCT.
James has over 20 years of diverse experience in the public and private sectors and worked extensively across Africa. James has professional qualifications in engineering and finance, and broad knowledge that spans the energy sector, including natural gas, renewables and green hydrogen, among others. He has a strong understanding of the dynamics of emerging markets and economies, business and energy strategy, as well as hands-on experience in developing and leading large transformational programmes. Prior to his role at Energy Council of South Africa, James was the PwC energy lead with specific focus on energy strategy and Net Zero.
In addition to his technical experience in engineering and large infrastructure project implementation, his shift into financial services and banking has given him a strong understanding of key drivers for successful and bankable projects. His experience includes banking, financial structuring and modelling, investment funding with the aim of driving bankable project development. He has also led the development of Public Private financial structures, having developed such policies and project portfolios for a number of key State Owned Entities in South Africa.
He has also attended the Harvard PPP programme at the Kennedy School of Business and serves on the South African council of the International Project Finance Association (IPFA), based in London. He has supported SA Ministries to develop frameworks for private sector participation in state-owned companies and participated in numerous international reviews, representing SA on an African reverse trade mission to USA covering the logistics and transport sector.
Bismarck J. Rewane is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited in Lagos, Nigeria, a macro-economic research and financial advisory firm.
He has more than forty years experience as an economist, banker & financial analyst. He is a chartered member of the Institute of Bankers of England and Wales and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers.
Mr. Rewane has served in the past and still sits on the Board of Directors of some multinational and Nigerian companies including Guinness Nigeria Plc (Subsidiary of Diageo – the largest spirit company in the world), Navgas (A subsidiary of Vitol - the largest oil trading company in the world), Top Feeds Nigeria Limited and Delta Packaging Nigeria Limited (Subsidiaries of Seaboard Allied Company of Kansas City Missouri), Parthian Partners and Africa Infra Plus Fund. He is the Chairman of FCMB Asset Management Limited and a non-executive Director of FCMB Capital Limited both subsidiaries of the First City Monument Bank Group. He is the Chairman of Whyte Cleon Limited (an HR Outsourcing/Consulting company). He was appointed the Chairman of PTAC (Presidential Technical Advisory Committee) on the Implementation of the New Minimum Wage in 2019 and he is also a member of the presidential Economic Advisory Council.
Mr. Rewane is a part-time facilitator of the macro-economic programme at the Lagos Business School, Executive Breakfast Session. He is also a renowned and acclaimed commentator on contemporary political and economic issues. He features regularly on many financial and business TV programmes including ChannelsTV, CNBC, BBC, CNN, and France 24.
Karl Toriola is the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria.
Karl holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria and a Master of Science degree in Communication Systems from the University of Wales, Swansea, UK. He has also completed several programmes at INSEAD, Singapore; Wharton Business School, USA; London Business School, UK; Harvard Business School, USA; and Institute of Management Development (IMD), Switzerland.
He first joined MTN Nigeria as the Chief Technical Office in 2006 before holding various positions across the MTN Group. He brings over 24 years’ experience in distinctive leadership and business expertise from MTN Group, WECA region; MTN Cameroon; and prior to MTN, Vmobile Nigeria; Ericsson Nigeria & AG Switzerland. He is also a Non-Executive Board Member of MTN Nigeria.
Karl re-joined MTN Nigeria from MTN Group where he served as Vice President, West and Central Africa (WECA) with direct operational and profit & loss (P&L) responsibility for seven Opcos ‑ Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Benin, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea, Liberia, and Bissau.
He became Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria in 2021.
Razia is Head of Research, Africa and Middle East, with over two decades of experience covering emerging and frontier markets. She is a well-known commentator on the region and provides regular updates to central banks, finance ministries, institutional investors and corporates in the region. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Royal Africa Society and Save the Children UK, and has been appointed to serve on the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) established by the presidency of the Republic of South Africa. She was named one of the ‘100 most influential Africans’ in 2015 by New African magazine, and one of ‘100 Africa economics leaders’ by Institut Choiseul (2017). Razia holds BSc and MSc (Econ) degrees from the London School of Economics.
Ken Ofori-Atta assumed his second term as Ghana’s Finance Minister on March 30, 2021, following his reappointment by H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and after having served his first term from January 27, 2017 to January 6, 2021. Prior to his appointment, he was the Co-Founder and former Executive Chairman of the Databank Group (a leading investment banking firm), Ken brings to the Ministry over 30 years’ experience in the Ghanaian, African and international financial sectors.
He was twice honoured by PriceWaterHouse Ghana as one of the Top 5 Most Respected CEOs in Ghana during his tenure in the private sector. Ken was the Executive Chairman of the Databank Group from 1990 until his retirement on February 14, 2012. Prior to co-founding Databank in 1990, he was an Investment Banker at Morgan Stanley and Salomon Brothers in New York.
Ken is the Chairman of the Vulnerable 20 Group (V20) and the Climate Vulnerable Forum. He is the immediate past chair of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and he is part of the Governing Board of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), the Ministerial Committee of the ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and the ECOWAS Africa Trade Insurance Agency. Ken is also a past chair of the World Bank/IMF Development Committee and the G-24 Group.
He went to Achimota School in Accra, Ghana; received a BA in Economics from Columbia University in New York and has an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
He was the first African to be honoured as a Donaldson Fellow at Yale University in 2010, a John Jay Fellow at Columbia University in 2011 and a Henry Crown Fellow of the Go Forth Class of the Aspen Institute. He is co-founder of the Aspen Africa Leadership Initiative, the first of the AGLN.
Ken is married to Professor Angela Lamensdorf Ofori-Atta, a fellow of the AGLN. They are blessed with four children and are committed Christians.
Reginald Yofi Grant draws from over three decades of a successful career and experience in investment banking and finance as he heads the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, under the Office of the President of Ghana.
Yofi is a skilled leader and a prominent financial policy advisor both in his country and beyond. He has a strong track record of leading advisory mandates for equity and debt transactions, including the creation and implementation of the AAF SME Fund LLC, one of the largest agriculture funds in sub-Saharan Africa.
As a council member of the Continental Business Network of the African Union, and a member of the board of trustees of the OACP Endowment and Trust Fund he remains passionately committed to shaping the continent’s financial and economic transformation.
Yofi serves on the Steering Board of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies representing sub-Saharan Africa and is involved in multiple private and public sector boards and committees, including the Public Private Partnership Approvals Board, Ghana Export Promotion Authority Board, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Advisory Board, Ghana International Financial Services Advisory Committee, and is co-Chair of the UK-Ghana Investor Group.
Under his leadership, the GIPC has been named the Best Investment Promotion Agency in West and Central Africa for five consecutive times. The centre has also been awarded Best Investment Promotion Agency in Africa four years in a row by CFI.co. He has received recognition for his leadership, including the Outstanding Public Leadership Award at the 2022 Ghana CEO's Summit and being honoured as Business Personality of the Year 2022 by International Investor Magazine.
He is currently working with the GroundUp Project and other partners to raise a $250 million SDG-SME Fund of Funds with support from Convergence, the global network for blended finance.
He is a fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Solomon has over 25 years of experience in transactions and has led over $4 billion in transactions across the African continent. In his role as CEO of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, he oversees origination, structuring and investment into infrastructure-related projects across Ghana. Prior to this role he held a number of notable positions including Vice President for Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration at the African Development Bank (AfDB); Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC); Vice President for Private Sector and International Investments at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA); and Special Assistant to the CEO of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Managing Director of the World Bank in Washington DC. He began his career as an Investment Banker in the City of London and has a Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College.
Ebenezer Asante is the Senior Vice President (SVP) of markets, with overall P & L responsibility of all MTN’s regions.
Prior to this appointment he held the positions of VP of the WECA region as well as VP of the SEAGHA region, a position he held from September 2017 to December 2020.
Ebenezer has also held CEO positions for MTN Ghana and MTN Rwanda. For both operations, he was responsible for providing sound human resource leadership and ensuring financial and organisational profitability and sustainability of the operating units. Before joining MTN he held leadership positions with Unilever, in Zambia and Ghana.
Eben also serves a director at the Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana.
Before taking the helm of MTN in September 2020, Ralph served as the Group Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to joining MTN, Ralph served as the Chief Executive Officer for Old Mutual Emerging Markets, providing financial service solutions to individuals and corporates across 19 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Ralph is a seasoned business leader with experience in engineering, construction, financial services and telecommunications. Since joining MTN, Ralph has played a pivotal role in the strengthening the Group's financial position, strategy formulation and successful listing of the MTN Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda subsidiaries, as well as leading the execution of the current MTN Group strategy, Ambition 2025.
Tsholofelo became Chief Financial Officer of MTN Group Limited in April 2021. She joined MTN Group Limited from Telkom SA SOC Limited where she held the position of Deputy Chief Financial Officer as well as Group Risk and Compliance Officer, prior to her appointment as the Group Chief Financial Officer in 2018.
Before joining Telkom, Ms. Molefe was employed as a Finance Director of Eskom Holdings SOC Limited (Africa’s largest electricity utility) and an Executive Director of the company’s main board. She also held various other roles at Eskom Holdings. In addition to her extensive telecommunications industry experience, Ms. Molefe has also worked in the banking and financial services sector.
She brings with her extensive financial strategy, financial management and accounting experience, with a strong background in enterprise risk management and financial controls. Ms. Molefe is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).
Charles Molapisi is the CEO of MTN South Africa. Prior to this appointment he held the position of Group Chief Technical and Information Officer. He is a former Chief Executive Officer of MTN Zambia (2015 to 2018) and the Chief Information Officer for MTN Nigeria (2012 to 2015) and has been with MTN since 2009. Charles has previously served on the boards of MTN Zambia (as Executive Director), MTN Business Botswana, MTN Business Kenya and MTN Business Namibia.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from University of the Witwatersrand and Master’s in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa. He has also attended executive programs at IMD Business School, Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School and INSEAD.
Dineo became Chief Financial Officer at MTN South Africa in 2020. She joined MTN SA from T‑Systems South Africa, part of the Deutsche Telekom Group, where she served as Managing Director since May 2018. She is a highly experience finance executive with a career spanning more than 23 years, 11 of those in executive and board level leadership roles. Dineo is a past Finance Executive at Vodacom and Group Financial Director at Thebe Investment Corporation.
She is a passionate advocate for skills development for young people and an advocate for acknowledgement of women in corporate and empowerment of communities.
Karl Toriola is the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria.
Karl holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria and a Master of Science degree in Communication Systems from the University of Wales, Swansea, UK. He has also completed several programmes at INSEAD, Singapore; Wharton Business School, USA; London Business School, UK; Harvard Business School, USA; and Institute of Management Development (IMD), Switzerland.
He first joined MTN Nigeria as the Chief Technical Office in 2006 before holding various positions across the MTN Group. He brings over 24 years’ experience in distinctive leadership and business expertise from MTN Group, WECA region; MTN Cameroon; and prior to MTN, Vmobile Nigeria; Ericsson Nigeria & AG Switzerland. He is also a Non-Executive Board Member of MTN Nigeria.
Karl re-joined MTN Nigeria from MTN Group where he served as Vice President, West and Central Africa (WECA) with direct operational and profit & loss (P&L) responsibility for seven Opcos ‑ Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Benin, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea, Liberia, and Bissau.
He became Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria in 2021.
As a Chartered Accountant, Modupe is a highly experience business and finance executive with a career spending more than 30 years of cross functional and cross industry experience, locally and internationally. He currently serves as Executive Director and CFO for MTN Nigeria. He is also a past Executive Director and CFO for MTN Ghana and has held a number of senior financial roles since joining MTN in 2007.
Modupe is also an alumnus of INSEAD, Columbia Business School, Kellogg School of Management and IMD.
Ebenezer Asante is the Senior Vice President (SVP) of markets, with overall P & L responsibility of all MTN’s regions.
Prior to this appointment he held the positions of VP of the WECA region as well as VP of the SEAGHA region, a position he held from September 2017 to December 2020.
Ebenezer has also held CEO positions for MTN Ghana and MTN Rwanda. For both operations, he was responsible for providing sound human resource leadership and ensuring financial and organisational profitability and sustainability of the operating units. Before joining MTN he held leadership positions with Unilever, in Zambia and Ghana.
Eben also serves a director at the Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana.
Ms Yolanda Cuba is the Vice President SEA region of the MTN Group. She is the former CEO of Vodafone Ghana and former Group Chief Strategy Officer for strategy, new business and M&A at Vodacom Group covering South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, DRC and Lesotho. Ms Cuba has wealth of experience in telecoms, financial services and fast-moving consumer goods among others. Her work experience started in corporate finance and transitioned to operational management in diversified industries.
She was one of the youngest CEOs of a JSE-listed company at the age of 29 years and has been recognised as CEO/Business personality of the year by multiple platforms over her 20-year working experience. She was also selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the Young Global Leaders and named one of the Choiseul 100 Africa by Institut Choiseul (France).
She is a CA (SA) by training and holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and a Master of Commerce degree from the University of Pretoria. She is an alumnus of programmes at INSTEAD, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School.
She has served on numerous JSE-listed companies as non-executive director including Absa Group where she was the longest serving member for 12 years before resigning in 2019.
She is passionate about education and inclusive social and financial development and has served on the Advisory Board of Stellenbosch University Business School, a founder of Cuba-Mtyi Foundation and serves as a Trustee for the Nelson Mandela Foundation since 2022.
Ismail has extensive telecommunications experience. Prior to his appointment as the Group Vice President for MENA, he was· CEO of MTN Syria. Ismail has held various senior operational roles for lnvestcom's subsidiaries across the Middle East and North Africa.
Jens Schulte-Bockum is the MTN Group Chief Operating Officer, responsible for all commercial functions and platforms except for Fintech at Group level. In addition to overseeing the consumer core connectivity business and Group marketing, he is tasked with scaling the new initiatives for home, fibre, enterprise services and network as a service (NaaS). His teams also build the Group’s digital services platform, including the Ayoba super-app, and the API market-place capability Chenosis.
Jens has extensive operational experience in the telecoms sector, with his last senior role being as CEO of Vodafone Germany between 2012 and 2015. Jens has extensive experience in consumer mobile, enterprise and fibre broadband businesses, as well as the area of large-scale transformation in a converged telecom operation.
Mazen Mroué is the MTN Group Chief Technology and Information Officer (GCTIO). Prior to this appointment he held the position the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MTN Nigeria.
Since joining MTN in 1998, Mazen has held various senior positions within the Group’s regional operations in WECA, SEA and MENA including roles as CEO, COO and CIO of various operating companies. Mazen holds a Master’s degree in Engineering, Intellectual Systems and Networks. He is also certified in Leadership Development and Executive Finance from Harvard Business School and INSEAD respectively.
Frédéric Schepens joined MTN in October 2017 as MTN Group Executive, Founder and CEO of Bayobab Group. The group owns subsidiaries in five African countries Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia and Kenya. As a seasoned global leader with over 28 years of experience, he also serves on the boards of several MTN entities.
Fred has played a pivotal role in the strategy formulation and strengthening of the financial position of MTN GlobalConnect, growing its multiple business lines and generating over half a billion USD in assets and revenues. At the core, Fred is a builder. He is motivated by an entrepreneurial spirit and has invested in substantial customer partnerships and shareholder value, advancing the landscape of international telecommunication, financial and digital services.
Fred initially joined MTN Group from Vodafone, where he assumed various roles as Senior Vice President and Chairman of the Board of Vodafone Enterprise in Italy and Member of the Board of Vodafone Belgium. As Vodafone’s Head of Global Voice Services, he built the largest voice carrier in the world, at over 60 billion minutes annually.
Prior to Vodafone, Fred was one of the founding members of Belgacom International Carrier Services Business (later BICS). He held multiple executive positions in the 15-year period, including Senior Vice President of Mobile Financial Services. Fred was instrumental in launching mobile operators in the Netherlands (KPN Mobile) and in Belgium (Mobistar/Orange).
Fred is an INSEAD Alumni and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from E.U. Business School (Paris). Active in the industry, Fred is a board member of the GLF Forum and Chair of the Board for Innovative Operators. He has received accolades from Telecoms Review Excellence Awards for “Industry CEO of the Year for Wholesale Operators” in 2020, “CEO of the Year for Infrastructure Initiatives” in 2021 and “Africa CEO Merit Leader of the Year for Operators” in 2022. Further industry recognition for Fred came in 2022 when he was named one of the Power 100 most influential people in the wholesale carrier and ICT communities.
Fred is a proud husband and father to three children, which is his personal accomplishment. His family has travelled with him, seeing three continents, before settling in the UAE.
Prior to this, Serigne was the MTN Group Executive for Mobile Financial Services. Serigne joined the MTN Group in September 2013, and has since then been responsible for driving MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) and related mobile financial services products and services across the MTN footprint.
Since 2009, he has held several leadership roles within the MTN Group of companies including MTN Cote d'Ivoire Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of MTN Mobile Money in the West and Central Africa region. He also currently serves on the Board of various MTN Group companies and is a member of the MTN Group Executive Committee. Prior to joining MTN, Serigne headed Orange Money Skill Centre from 2008 to 2010 where he coordinated the launch of Orange Money in several Orange affiliates.
He has an established track record in the telecoms sector, with strong experience in mobile financial services. Under his leadership, MTN’s Fintech offering has expanded to 17 countries, serving over 60 million customers, with a transaction value of US$240bn p.a.
Serigne holds a qualification in Telecommunications Engineering from the French institution ENST Bretagne.
Serigne is passionate about financial inclusion and is spearheading MTN’s ambition to build Africa’s largest fintech platform, accelerating economic and social development through digital innovations for the benefit of citizens across the continent and beyond.
Eli Hini is the Chief Executive Officer for MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited, the subsidiary of MTN Nigeria responsible for mobile financial services. He is responsible for driving strategy, business development, innovation, stakeholder management and relevant operations of MoMo PSB.
He was the Chief Executive Officer for MobileMoney Limited, the MTN Ghana subsidiary responsible for mobile financial services until October 2022. Eli was instrumental in setting up Mobile Money services in Ghana and growing the business over the years through strategic partnerships, business development stakeholder management and innovation.
Eli is a Chartered Marketer with over 20 years’ experience and has also held leadership positions in Unilever Ghana Limited and The Coca-Cola Bottling Company Limited.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a post-graduate diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. He has also participated in Executive and General Management programme at Kellogg School of Management.
With over 24 years of management experience Kunle is General Accountant and acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Banking from the University of Lagos, as well as a Masters’ degree in Finance from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Kunle also holds several professional certifications, such as ACCA UK, CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), CMA (Certified Management Accountant), CertIFR (ACCA’s Certificate in International Financial Reporting) and Associateship of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB).
His entrepreneurial spirit, self‑driven nature and ability to motivate a high performing and fast‑paced team will bode well in his new role. As CFO for Fintech, Kunle’s is responsible for the Fintech structural separation, stakeholder engagements and ensuring strategic platform growth in alignment with Ambition 2025.
Chika Ekeji is MTN Group’s Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer and in that capacity leads the Corporate Strategy, Strategic Partnerships, National Roaming, Advanced Analytics Center of Excellence, and Digital Transformation functions. Prior to joining MTN Group, Chika led the West Africa Digital Practice for McKinsey & Company, where he focused on Digital Business Building and operational transformations for telco, financial services and public sector clients. Chika has Bachelor’s degrees (honors) in Computer Science, Marketing and Mathematics from Coastal Carolina University, a Master of Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Ferdi Moolman is a Group Chief Risk Officer. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, and has held many senior roles since he joined the company in 1990.
He has extensive experience spanning financial auditing, financial operations and taxation, having worked in the telecommunications and consulting sectors in Nigeria, Iran, England, and France.
Before joining MTN, he held several senior positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Momentum Life, Europ Assistance and the office of the Auditor General, all in South Africa.
Lele Modise is the Group Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer (CLRO) at MTN Group Limited (MTN), and was previously the MTN Group Chief Legal Counsel, having joined MTN Group in August 2019.
Lele leads the Legal and Regulatory function in respect of various aspects including litigation and dispute resolution, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law and governance, oversight over various key transactions and projects across various jurisdictions, as well as licence renewals and applications, spectrum acquisitions, engagements with various regulators, ministries, and industry bodies, in respect of legislative and policy developments and industry developments.
Lele began her career at Bell Dewar & Hall (now Fasken Martineau) and was admitted to the High Court as an attorney in 2003. She went on to be a partner at Bowman Gilfillan, specialising in Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions, Banking and Finance, and later became the firm’s head of its Private Equity Practice.
In October 2014, Lele joined Barclays Africa Group Limited (Absa Africa) as General Counsel for Corporate Investment Banking (CIB) and was appointed as General Counsel for both Wealth Investment Management and Insurance and CIB until November 2016. Lele remained General Counsel for CIB and was also the Head of the Transaction Management responsible for the delivery of end-to-end deal execution services, consisting of legal structuring and solutioning, deal administration, deal co-ordination and post-deal management services until she joined MTN in 2019.
Lele is skilled in the areas of capital markets and securities law, banking and finance, corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. Lele has also worked extensively across Africa on transactions across her areas of specialisation, as well as managing complex litigation across our markets.
Nompilo is the Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer of the MTN Group, effective 1 February 2022, having joined MTN as Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability in December 2018. She is responsible for the creation of shared value and the integration of Environmental, Social and Governances (ESG) practices at the core of MTN’s business, including the management of MTN’s reputation–through coordination of sustainability, corporate communication, stakeholder engagement and corporate social investments (MTN Foundations) across its footprint.
Nompilo joined MTN in 2019 from LafargeHolcim in South Africa, where she was the country director for Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development. Prior to this, Nompilo was a Vice President for Sasol’s International Exploration and Production business spanning across various countries, based in Mozambique.
Her experience in corporate affairs, country management and sustainability spans more than 20 years in sectors including financial services, mining, oil and gas and now telecommunications.
Thato is the Group Executive: Investor Relations for MTN Group. Prior to joining MTN in 2019, Thato worked at Absa Asset Management, where he held the role of Portfolio Manager, co-managing the flagship funds within the Equities franchise. Before that, he was a Senior Investment Analyst at STANLIB Asset Management; prior to which Thato was a Director and top-rate sell-side research analyst at Citigroup Global Markets and UBS Investment Banks where he covered a variety of sectors and industries.
At MTN, Thato sits on the Boards of some of the WECA operating companies and is a member of the Group Treasury Committee and Brand Council. He is also a trustee of the MTN Group Retirement Fund, for which he also serves on the Audit & Risk Committee and Chairs the Investment Committee.
