MTN Group, Africa’s telecommunications powerhouse, has announced a sweeping overhaul of its top-tier executive leadership across the continent, tapping highly experienced internal talent to steer its multi-billion-dollar digital and financial expansion.
The major restructuring is anchored by the high-profile promotion of Mitwa Ng’ambi, the current Chief Executive Officer of MTN Côte d’Ivoire, who has been elevated to the position of MTN Group Chief People and Culture Officer.
She is scheduled to officially join the elite Group Executive Committee no later than September 1, 2026.
The appointment comes ahead of the retirement later this year of the long-serving incumbent, Paul Norman, who is stepping down after a stellar career spanning nearly three decades of structural service to the Johannesburg-headquartered multinational.
The Domino Effect of CEO Appointments
Ms Ng’ambi’s ascent to the group executive level has triggered a series of critical leadership transitions across MTN’s premium West and East African subsidiaries.
- Abbad Reda, the current Chief Executive Officer of MTN Zambia, has been formally transferred to replace Ms Ng’ambi as the new head of MTN Côte d’Ivoire.
- Larry Annetts, a corporate veteran whose most recent high-level assignment was as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Commercial Officer seconded to Irancell, has been deployed to succeed Mr Reda as the substantive Chief Executive Officer of MTN Zambia.
All new CEO designations across the regional subsidiaries are expected to take full operational effect no later than September 1, 2026.
Commending the strategic movements, MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, expressed absolute confidence in the new leadership structure’s ability to drive the company’s next growth phase.
“Mitwa will lead MTN’s people and culture agenda at a pivotal time in our Ambition 2030 journey,” Mr Mupita stated authoritatively. “She will take the reins from Paul, who will retire after a stellar career at MTN and having made a significant contribution to the business over almost three decades.”
A Strong Track Record of Ghana and Continental Experience
The newly appointed executives bring an aggregate of over half a century of highly specialised, hands-on experience in navigating volatile emerging markets, with several having deep professional ties to the Ghanaian telecom landscape.
Ms Ng’ambi, who has emerged as one of the most powerful women in global technology management, boasts over 15 years of leadership experience gained across critical telecom operations in Zambia, Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Notably, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Tigo Ghana, MTN Cameroon, MTN Rwanda, and Tigo Senegal, building a reputation for executing aggressive business turnarounds, corporate mergers, and artificial intelligence-driven digital transformations.
Similarly, incoming Côte d’Ivoire chief Abbad Reda is widely recognized within the industry as a customer-centric operational turnaround expert. His executive journey includes senior leadership roles at MTN Afghanistan, MTN Liberia, and a highly successful stint at MTN Ghana, where he was instrumental in driving market share recovery, commercial innovation, and sustainable revenue growth.
Larry Annetts, the incoming boss for the Zambian market, represents the bedrock of MTN’s institutional memory. With over 29 years of continuous service within the group, Mr Annetts has previously engineered massive product innovations and disciplined digital commercial growth across corporate heavyweights including MTN South Africa and MTN Nigeria.
Driving the “Ambition 2030” Agenda
The high-level re-alignment comes on the heels of MTN Group adopting its refreshed five-year strategic blueprint, dubbed Ambition 2030.
This long-term commercial policy is explicitly designed to tap into the enduring, structural growth opportunities in extending deep digital connectivity and fintech financial inclusion across sub-Saharan Africa.
Group CEO Ralph Mupita emphasized that the decision to fill these highly sensitive positions entirely from within the company’s existing ranks underscores the robust nature of MTN’s internal talent pipeline and succession planning protocols.
“I would like to congratulate Mitwa, Abbad and Larry on their appointments and wish them well in their work to deliver on our strategic ambition under Ambition 2030,” Mupita added. “Paul has made an invaluable contribution to MTN success, and we will have an opportunity to thank him and celebrate this in the second half.”
With these appointments firmly locked in, market analysts expect a smooth operational transition as the newly designated chiefs prepare to assume full control of their respective territories by the September deadline.
