MTN Group president and CEO Rob Shuter will vacate his post in March 2021, with the South African firm noting that a successor will be appointed by the end of this year.
Shuter has been in the top role since 2017, and was thanked by MTN for the “contribution he has made, and continues to make” to the group. In particular, he helmed the company through a recent period of turbulence in Nigeria, where MTN stood accused of illegally repatriating funds and was hit with a colossal $8.1 billion tax bill.
“Under his leadership significant progress has been made, including establishing and effectively communicating a clear vision and strategy, driving the resolution of a number of complex matters and delivering significant improvements in transformation, operational performance and staff morale”, read a statement from MTN.
The aforementioned strategy changes under Shuter include the group’s expansion into lifestyle services beyond telecoms, including its media and financial offerings. Shuter will serve the remainder of his contract before it expires in March.
While MTN revealed the news about Shuter during an earnings report, it did not disclose its numbers for Q4. However, the group did reveal that 2019 revenue was up 9.8% year-on-year to ZAR141.8 billion ($8.8 billion), with Ghana and Nigeria its strongest markets.
While respectively these West African markets saw revenue increases of 22.9% and 12.6%, its home market was a different story with domestic sales just 0.4%. MTN attributed this to ICASA’s new subscriber legislation along with revised definitions for revenue.
