MTN Group has strengthened its leadership ahead of the retirement of Paul Norman later this year by appointing long-serving executive Mitwa Ng’ambi as chief people and culture officer, joining the telco’s executive committee no later than 1 September 2026.
Norman has served at MTN for 29 years, having joined the company in 1997.
Africa’s largest telecoms company announced the changes today, confirming Ng’ambi will move back to Johannesburg, MTN Group’s head office, from MTN Côte d’Ivoire.
She will be succeeded as CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire by Abbad Rada, currently CEO of MTN Zambia. Abbad will, in turn, be succeeded by Larry Annetts, who was chief marketing officer and chief commercial officer seconded to Irancell.
All new CEO appointments take effect no later than 1 September 2026.
Commenting on Ng’ambi’s promotion and the other leadership changes, MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita said: “Mitwa will lead MTN’s people and culture agenda at a pivotal time in our Ambition 2030 journey. She will take the reins from Paul, who will retire after a stellar career and significant contributions over almost three decades.”
He added: “I congratulate Mitwa, Abbad and Larry on their appointments and wish them well as they work to deliver on our strategic ambitions under Ambition 2030. Paul has made an invaluable contribution to MTN’s success, and we will celebrate his legacy in the second half of the year.”
Earlier this year, MTN Group announced a refreshed five-year strategy: Ambition 2030, which it said reflected confidence in the structural growth opportunities in extending digital and financial inclusion across Africa.
The telco said: “Making these appointments from internal candidates demonstrates the depth of talent within the Group and the effectiveness of our succession planning.”
Ng’ambi brings more than 15 years of leadership experience in African telecoms, having held roles in Zambia, Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire.
She previously served as CEO of MTN Cameroon, MTN Rwanda, Airtel Tigo Ghana and Tigo Senegal.
“In this time, she has led business turnarounds, organisational restructuring, market repositioning, merger integration, and digital and AI-related transformation initiatives,” MTN said.
Regarding Rada, the company noted his senior roles at MTN Afghanistan, MTN Liberia and MTN Ghana.
“Abbad is a highly skilled executive with a proven track record of turning around operations, fostering innovation and surpassing targets. A customer champion, he is instrumental in improving customer experiences and delivering market share, revenue and profit growth.”
On Annetts, MTN said his career spans over 29 years, during which he has driven commercial growth, digital transformation and product innovation across multiple markets.
“In addition to his secondment at Irancell, he has worked in Group subsidiaries including MTN South Africa and MTN Nigeria, where he was recognised for delivering transformative results through a customer-centric approach and disciplined execution.”
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