News
African telco names M&A chief and announces CFO departure; says governance and management reviews should be complete by year-end.
Fresh from appointing a new CEO, MTN detailed further changes to its management team at group level this week, naming a VP of M&A and announcing the departure of its finance chief.
The African telecoms group named Stephen van Coller as its new vice president of strategy and mergers & acquisitions, effective 1 October 2016. It announced the creation of the role last month, when it unveiled Vodafone’s Rob Shuter as its new chief executive following the resolution of its fine dispute in Nigeria.
At the time, it said the new M&A and strategy VP would focus in particular on convergence between the mobile and financial services markets. The telco also said it is looking to increase its focus on new revenue streams.
Van Coller joins the company from Barclays Africa, where he spent a decade in a variety of roles, including chief executive of corporate and investment banking, a position he took on in 2009.
He will serve as the fourth vice president in the MTN group, the other three having responsibility for its geographic operating regions, the telco said. It added that it expects to appoint a deputy head of M&A shortly.
MTN also revealed that group CFO Brett Goschen will leave the company at the end of September "to pursue other interests."
MTN Rwanda CEO and chartered accountant Gunter Engling will serve as acting chief financial officer until a replacement is found, the company said.
Goschen joined MTN almost 14 years ago as CFO of MTN Nigeria and has held chief executive positions at MTN Ghana and MTN Nigeria since then. He became group CFO three years ago.
"MTN is confident that the process of reviewing its capacity, resources, governance and management structures will be substantially completed by year end and will leave the group well positioned to successfully face a highly competitive environment and take advantage of new opportunities," the operator said in a stock exchange announcement on Monday.
It has been a turbulent nine months for the South African operator, largely as a result of the hefty fine slapped on it in Nigeria in October last year for failing to disconnect unregistered SIM cards.
The dispute that ensued cost former CEO Sifiso Dabengwa his job, leaving non-executive chairman and former CEO Phuthuma Nhleko to step into the breach on a temporary basis.
The telco negotiated a US$1.67 billion settlement with the authorities in Nigeria in June, enabling it to select a new chief executive. However, Shuter will not join the company immediately. He will take up his new role "as soon as it is practically possible" in 2017, and not later than 1 July, MTN explained.
