MTN Group Repositions, Appoints New COO to Drive 2025 Strategy

Emma Okonji 

MTN Group has announced senior leadership appointments to operating companies in Nigeria, Iran and Sudan, all of them being internal candidates, saddled with the responsibilities to drive growth, de-leverage faster and reveal value in MTN’s Fintech and fibre businesses. 

The appointments are effective 1 April 2022.

Announcing the development, MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita, said: “A vital enabler of our strategy is having the best talent, culture and future-fit skills. The announcement demonstrates the depth of talent within the Group, as well as the strength of our succession planning.”

Following the recent appointment of MTN Nigeria Chief Operating Officer, Mazen Mroue as MTN Group Chief Information and Technology Officer, Hassan Jaber assumes the COO role at MTN Nigeria. He moves from MTN Irancell, where he serves as COO, bringing with him some 25 years of telecoms and digital experience within the MTN Group.

Jaber’s track record of building and scaling-up telecom operations and developing digital businesses through the power of mobile technology will be instrumental to MTN Nigeria as it plays its part in delivering on the Group’s strategic intent of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress. He has served MTN in numerous markets, including Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.

Malik Melamu, with over 28 years of managerial and executive experience, will assume the position of MTN Irancell COO, joining from MTN Sudan where he has been  CEO over the last five years. Among other roles at MTN, he previously served as MTN Benin CEO and as Executive for Sales and Distribution and Customer Experience at MTN Group.

Stepping into the CEO role at MTN Sudan is Ziad Sabah, whose career within MTN spans more than a decade, most recently as MTN Syria CEO and before that as the Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Syria.