Charles Molapisi steps in as new MTN South Africa CEO

The former MTN chief technology and information officer Charles Molapisi has taken over as CEO of MTN South Africa after Godfrey Motsa stepped down as leader of the SA unit on January 1, 2022.

Charles Molapisi has been serving as group chief technology and information officer (CTIO) since January 2019. He has been with the MTN group since 2009 and previously ran the group’s Zambian business for over three years and also worked for MTN in Nigeria in various roles for almost seven years. Before that he spent six years at Telkom South Africa.

MTN announced in December that Motsa would be leaving the company after five years but gave no details of why he was stepping down. The well-respected CEO joined MTN in 2016 – first as VP of South and East Africa (SEA) and then as CEO of SA.

Motsa joined MTN after spending ten years at rival Vodacom. He was previously MD of both Vodacom Lesotho and Vodacom Congo, and then Chief officer of Vodacom’s consumer business unit.

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita said in a statement in December: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Godfrey Motsa for the role he has played over the years in the Group, firstly as VP of SEA and then CEO of MTN SA. The changes we are announcing today are about enhancing the structures needed to execute on our Ambition 2025 strategy and delivering on our medium-term guidance.”

The announcement led to a domino effect of changes with Molapisi’s previous role as group CTIO being filled by Mazen Mroue, who is currently COO of MTN Nigeria and will move over to group CTIO on February 1, 2022. Mroue’s successor at MTN Nigeria is due to be announced sometime this month.

MTN said that Serigne Dioum will become group chief fintech officer on February 1, 2022. Ebenezer Asante will also assume the new role of SVP of markets, with overall responsibility of the group’s three regions – West and Central Africa (WECA), the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and South and East Africa (SEA). While Yolanda Cuba (VP of SEA) and Ismail Jaroudi (VP of MENA) will remain on the executive committee and report to Asante.