Tag: Leadership

MTN announced on Friday that it has completed a comprehensive review of the Group strategy with a focus on accelerating growth, deleveraging the holding company debt and unlocking value. The revised strategy will be presented in more detail following the release of MTN’s 2020 full-year results in March 2021.

To support the Group’s strategy execution, MTN Group announced the appointment of a new Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO) as well as changes to the Company’s regional structure and the Group Exco.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Tsholofelo Molefe as the new GCFO. Tsholofelo (51) will take up the position as soon as practically possible in 2021, but by no later than 1 October 2021.

She is a qualified chartered accountant, CA(SA), and brings deep financial, risk and telecommunications experience. As Telkom’s GCFO since 2018, as well as its Chief Risk Officer and Deputy CFO prior to that, Tsholofelo played a key role in the strategic transformation programmes at Telkom.

Prior to working at Telkom, Tsholofelo was the Finance Director at Eskom as well as the CFO for First National Bank’s Personal Banking division. She is also a Non-executive Director on the board of Curro Holdings.

Tsholofelo will also join the Group board and take over from Sugentharan Perumal who has been acting in the position of GCFO since 1 September 2020.

“We are thrilled to have an executive of Tsholofelo’s stature join us,” said MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita. “The board is confident that she has the experience required for the position. She will play a critical role in the growth of the business and unlocking of shareholder value.”

Changes to the regional structure and the Group Exco

Effective 1 January 2021, MTN Ghana will become part of the Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region, a natural fit due to its geographic location in the region. From that date, MTN’s Southern and East Africa and Ghana (SEAGHA) region will be known as the Southern and East Africa (SEA) region.

Ebenezer Asante, the SEAGHA Vice President since 2017, will become the new WECA Vice President, and Yolanda Cuba, the Group’s Chief Digital and Fintech Officer, will take the helm as the SEA Vice President.

Ebenezer, 52, joined MTN in 2008 and is a highly experienced executive who has held senior positions in the Group, including CEO of MTN Ghana and CEO of MTN Rwanda. He is also a board member on a number of companies within the Group.

Yolanda, 43, joined MTN in January 2020. Prior to that she was Vodacom’s Chief Officer of Strategy and M&A and CEO of Vodafone Ghana, which saw her named telecom CEO of the year in 2018.

The SEA region is critical to MTN’s growth ambitions and presents a good opportunity for growth in mobile financial services. It also has the largest potential for further expansion. With her extensive experience in telecoms and finance, Yolanda will play a key role in driving growth and strategic progress in the region.

Serigne Dioum, Group Executive for Mobile Financial Services, will join the Exco as the Group Chief Digital and Fintech Officer. Serigne, 46, joined MTN in 2009 and has an established track record in the telecoms sector, with strong experience in mobile financial services (MFS).

Before joining MTN, he held senior positions in MFS, operational marketing, value-added services and data at Orange. Serigne is highly qualified and experienced to drive digital innovation and financial inclusion as well as build and scale these platforms as part of MTN’s growth strategy.

Kholekile Ndamase, Group Executive for Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), will assume the new Exco role of Group Chief M&A and Business Development Officer. Kholekile, 40, joined MTN in 2016 from RMB, where he led the equity-based financing business and was responsible for financing solutions and M&A execution.

Kholekile’s experience and leadership capacity is important to the group’s portfolio optimisation drive, itself key to the strategy. This includes the asset realisation programme, which aims to reduce debt, simplify the portfolio, reduce risk, improve returns and take advantage of expansion opportunities.

These executive changes follow those announced in October: Karl Toriola as CEO designate of MTN Nigeria and Ferdi Moolman’s appointment to the new exco role of Group Chief Risk Officer. Both are effective from 1 March 2021.

Commenting on the latest appointments, Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita said: “We are excited about our journey of growth and it is important to ensure that the management capacity is in place to sustain and accelerate our key strategic ambitions. Today’s appointments follow the recent management announcement we made on the 26th of October and continues the process of further deepening the skills and experience required to lead the Group’s ambitious drive into the future.

 “Not only do these appointments safeguard continuity in the growth of our leading and scale connectivity business on the African continent, but, importantly, also support the acceleration of our digital platforms, de-risking of the business and unlocking of value. I am also particularly pleased with our continued steady progress in adding to the representation of women in our senior leadership team, which underlines MTN’s strategic focus on diversity and inclusion.”

 “I look forward to the contribution of the appointed executives in driving the company forward,” he concluded.

The Group Exco will be as follows: 

MTN Group on Monday announced two important new appointments: that of chief executive officer of major subsidiary MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and that of MTN Group chief risk officer, a new group executive committee (exco) position. Both are effective from 1 March 2021.

Karl Toriola, current vice president for MTN Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region, will take over as MTN Nigeria CEO from Ferdi Moolman, who has served MTN Nigeria with distinction in this role for the past five years. Ferdi will return to South Africa, where he will assume the new role of group chief risk officer.

Karl has a BSc Hons in Electronic and Electrical Engineering and a MSc in Communication Systems. Ferdi has a BCom and BCompt. He is a CA(SA). Both will remain members of the group’s exco.

Ferdi Moolman appointed as the new MTN Group chief risk officer

Ferdi (57) joined MTN in 2002 and has held several senior positions within the group in Nigeria and in Iran. He has spent the past five years as the CEO of MTN Nigeria and, as its CFO prior to that. During that time, significant progress has been made in stabilising the business and setting it on a sustainable growth path.

The management of enterprise-wide risk is integral to MTN’s growth strategy and Ferdi will bring extensive operational and financial experience to the role given his deep knowledge of the MTN Group, its markets and the telecoms sector. Ferdi will remain on the board of MTN Nigeria and will in due course be appointed to other material subsidiary boards given his new group responsibility.

Karl Toriola appointed as the new MTN Nigeria CEO

In his five years as VP of MTN’s WECA region, Karl has overseen the steady progress of the operating companies in the region, notably the turnaround of MTN Ivory Coast and MTN Cameroon over the past two years.

In addition, the WECA markets have made significant commercial and strategic strides, including the improvement of market share and the development of mobile financial services. The latter in particular is an important driver of the group’s medium- to long-term growth strategy.

Since joining the group in 2006, Karl (48) has also held a number of senior operational roles at MTN, including chief technical officer of MTN Nigeria and CEO of MTN Cameroon. He is also a board member on a number of companies within the group, including MTN Nigeria. Karl’s successor as VP for WECA will be announced after the group strategy review is completed by the end of November 2020.

Exemplary leadership, extensive experience

“Karl brings extensive technical and commercial experience, as well as a deep understanding of the Nigeria market to the role,” commented MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita. “Karl started his MTN career in his home country at MTN Nigeria 14 years’ ago and has all the attributes necessary to lead this very important business into the future.”

 “Ferdi has been an exemplary leader of MTN Nigeria and has put the business on a sound growth platform for the future,” said Mupita. “He brings significant strategic, financial and operational experience to the new group risk role, where we want to ensure that our enterprise-wide risk management systems are continuously strengthened and remain resilient as we drive our growth strategy.”

MTN Group owns 78,8% of MTN Nigeria, which is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and contributes around a third to the group’s service revenue.

MTN Group is pleased to announce the appointment of the new chief executive officer for MTN Liberia Lonestar Cell. Rahul De, the current Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Nigeria, will take the helm at the company on November 1, 2020. Rahul replaces Uche Ofodile who departed Lonestar Cell MTN in July to become the CEO of MTN Benin.

With 23 years of experience in the telco space, ranging across multiple geographies, Rahul has spent the last two decades in senior leadership roles driving growth and leading business transformation.

“I would like to congratulate Rahul on his appointment,” said MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita. “Rahul is a seasoned leader renowned for driving innovative digital and FinTech advancement in our business and in the telecommunications industry.”

Expressing appreciation for Rahul’s commitment and valued service, MTN Nigeria CEO, Ferdi Moolman said, “we thank Rahul for his unwavering dedication and commitment to ensuring that MTN Nigeria remains the market leader in our industry; and congratulate him on his new role. I know that he will continue to shine bright as he moves on from our immediate Y’ello family.”

During this tenure at MTN Nigeria, Rahul spearheaded the team that is driving digital transformation in the country, from a voice and data centric organisation to one which drives a digital and fintech future.

Rahul joined MTN in 2011 as Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Ghana, a position he held for over four years before he joined MTN Nigeria in 2015 as Chief Marketing Officer. He has an MBA in International Business and a bachelor’s degree in Science.

MTN today announces changes to the board of directors of MTN Group, as well as to the board of major subsidiary MTN South Africa.

After six years as an independent non-executive director of MTN Group – the last five as audit committee chairman – Christine Ramon will step down on 30 September to focus on her extended executive responsibilities.

Sindi Mabaso-Koyana will join the MTN Group board as an independent non-executive director on 1 September, assuming the chairmanship of the audit committee on 1 October.

Sindi is a chartered accountant with extensive experience in the public and private sectors, where she is held in high regard both locally and internationally. She has served as a non-executive director for numerous companies, and her current board positions include MTN Zakhele Futhi, AWCA Investment Holdings, Toyota SA and Phembani Group.

MTN Group chairman Mcebisi Jonas said: “Christine has played an invaluable role in ensuring the integrity of MTN’s corporate reporting, for which the board is grateful and wishes her well in her future endeavours. We also welcome Sindi, who the board believes to be a worthy successor in this critical role.”

Following the announcement in August of the appointment of group chief financial officer (GCFO) Ralph Mupita as the new group president and chief executive officer (GCEO) effective 1 September, outgoing GCEO Rob Shuter steps down from the board from this date. The board once again expresses its gratitude to Rob for his leadership and wishes him success in future.

The company continues with its rigorous recruitment process for the GCFO position, and in the interim the board has appointed Sugentharan Perumal as MTN Group’s acting GCFO. A chartered accountant for over 15 years, Sugen has extensive financial and accounting experience. He has served as an external auditor of MTN Group and held various key executive and board positions within the group. He is currently acting CFO of MTN South Africa and previously held the CFO position at MTN Irancell.

Finally, the group announces the appointment of Dineo Molefe as the CFO of MTN South Africa, effective 1 December 2020. Dineo is a chartered accountant and joins from T-Systems (South Africa), where she is CEO.

GCEO Ralph Mupita said: “The board is confident in the wide-ranging experience and knowledge of MTN that Sugen brings to the role. We also welcome Dineo to MTN South Africa, to which she brings a wealth of experience, having held a number of executive positions in the ICT, investment management and energy sectors. We wish both Sugen and Dineo well in their new roles.”

 

MTN Group today announced that the current group CFO of MTN Group, Ralph Mupita, has been appointed as the new group president and CEO with effect from 1 September 2020. Ralph has served as the MTN Group CFO since April 2017 and has played a critical role in the development and execution of the group’s strategy, capital allocation processes, financial performance as well as in the resolution of a number of complex regulatory matters.

MTN Group chairman Mr Mcebisi Jonas said: “After a rigorous and extensive search process, we are pleased to have appointed someone of Ralph’s calibre, experience and ability to fill the group president and CEO position. Ralph’s experience as the group CFO, strong knowledge of our businesses and markets, as well as successful background in financial services, M&A and emerging markets, place him in an excellent position to lead the growth and sustainability of the business going forward.”

Ralph is a graduate of the University of Cape Town with a degree in Engineering and an MBA. Prior to joining MTN Group, Ralph was the CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets for five years, a business that provided financial services to individuals and corporates across 19 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, managing over R1 trillion of customer assets under management at the time.

Commenting on his appointment, Ralph said: “Leading a business with MTN Group’s history, scale and socio-economic impact is a privilege and honour, and I look forward to working with the group board and executive committee in driving growth and unlocking value for shareholders and broader stakeholders.”

“MTN Group is well positioned to take advantage of the digital acceleration shifts and opportunities across our markets, and we are well placed to play an important and leading role in digital and financial inclusion of the African continent, working with our stakeholders and partners.

The current group president and CEO, Rob Shuter, will step down from his executive responsibilities on 31 August 2020 and will thereafter support Ralph as required until the end of his fixed-term contract early next year.

An update regarding the GCFO position will be made on or before 1 September 2020.

MTN Group is pleased to announce the appointment of new chief executive officers for two of its West African operations, MTN Cameroon and MTN Benin. Stephen Blewett, the current CEO of MTN Benin, will take the helm at MTN Cameroon on 1 August 2020 when Uche Ofodile, the current CEO of MTN Liberia, will become the CEO of MTN Benin.

“I would like to congratulate Stephen and Uche on their appointments,” said MTN Group president and CEO Rob Shuter. “Both are renowned for harnessing the power of people to move businesses forward. This is evident in the significant improvements in employee engagement, as well as overall performance, at MTN’s operations in Benin and Liberia in the past few years.”

Karl Toriola, vice president for MTN’s West and Central Africa region, thanked Stephen and Uche for their commitment and contribution: “Under Stephen’s leadership, MTN Benin recorded double-digit revenue growth for three years running. Uche leaves a business with double-digit year-on-year revenue growth, enjoying a nine-point market share improvement against its competitor.”

Stephen has for five years led MTN Benin, an operation of 5,5 million subscribers. He replaces Hendrik Kasteel, who left the group in March. Since then, MTN Cameroon chief financial officer Ebenezer Bodylawson has been acting CEO, steering the operation of more than 10 million subscribers.

Uche joined MTN in 2018. Since then, she has repositioned MTN Liberia as a competitive player in the market and grown its customer base to 1,45 million. The group is in the process of appointing a new CEO for MTN Liberia and will make an announcement in this regard as soon as the process is finalised.

MTN Group has announced that Gordian Kyomukama has been appointed as the new MTN South Sudan CEO, effective 21 January 2020. Gordian is a seasoned telecoms executive, with close to 30 years of experience in the sector, most of which has been with MTN.

He started in MTN Uganda as part of the Opco’s pioneer team and has also undertaken secondment opportunities in Rwanda, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, in the course of his tenure. Prior to returning to Uganda, he was Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO) of MTN Liberia.

Commenting on Gordian’s appointment, MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter said, “I would like to congratulate Gordian on his new role, and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Lily Zondo, who has been holding the fort as acting South Sudan CEO over the past few months. Lily will resume her role as MTN South Sudan Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with immediate effect.”

Changes in Cameroon

MTN Cameroon CEO, Hendrik Kasteel, will be leaving MTN at the end of March, due to personal reasons. He will serve out his notice over the next two months, and a successor will be announced when finalised.

MTN Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Djibril Ouattara to the position of MTN Ivory Coast CEO, effective 1 November 2019. The appointment follows the departure of former CEO, Freddy Tchala in September.

Djibril is a seasoned executive with experience spanning more than 15 years in telecoms. In his most recent role as CEO of MTN Congo Brazzaville, he made significant strides in delivering on the company’s BRIGHT strategy.

He has implemented a successful turnaround including a network transformation which won MTN Congo Brazzaville the award for ‘best network’ in the country for two consecutive years, and an aggressive Supply and Distribution transformation leading to significant value share growth. Additionally, he led the operation’s mobile money development, achieving 53% penetration rate in two years.

Djibril has worked across Africa, the USA and Europe. Prior to joining MTN he held CEO roles at Canal Plus Ivory Coast and Etisalat-Atlantique Telecom Togo. He holds an MBA from MIT-Sloan School of Management (USA), as well as an Engineering Degree from ENSIA-INSET in Ivory Coast.

Effective 1 November, current MTN Congo Brazzaville Chief Technical and Information Officer (CTIO), Ayham Moussa, will undertake the position of acting CEO for MTN Congo Brazzaville until a permanent appointment is finalised.

MTN Group has announced that current MTN Zambia CEO, Philip van Dalsen will be leaving MTN at the end of September. Philip joined MTN in 2012 as CEO of MTN Cyprus. In January this year, he moved to MTN Zambia in the same capacity.

MTN Rwanda CEO, Bart Hofker, will take over the reins from van Dalsen, effective October. Hofker is a senior commercial telecom executive with extensive experience in mobile, fixed and integrated businesses. MTN also announced that Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi has been appointed as the new CEO of MTN Rwanda. Ng’ambi, is a seasoned leader with a career spanning more than 10 years in telecoms and returns to MTN where she previously held the role of Chief Marketing Officer at MTN Benin and several other roles at MTN Zambia.

She has a strong background in commercial and technology with a track-record of driving business strategy for growth, as well as developing high-performing teams. She also has the unique experience of leading mergers and acquisitions in the telecom industry. Ng’ambi joins MTN from Airtel Tigo Ghana, where she held the role of CEO. Prior to which, she was CEO of Tigo Senegal. She has a Masters Degree in Computer Science from the University of Joensuu, Finland and Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from the University of Namibia.

Changes in Cote d’Ivoire

CEO of MTN Cote d’Ivoire Freddy Tchala will be leaving MTN at the end of September. Tchala has been with MTN for 17 years and has had a remarkable journey with the company. After leaving MTN Cameroon, he served as CEO in Guinea Conakry and Congo Brazzaville, before joining MTN Cote d’Ivoire four years ago. MTN will make an announcement in due course regarding a successor to Tchala.

 

Two years into his role as MTN CFO, Ralph Mupita received four CFO Awards, including CFO of the Year, for the pivotal part he’s played in turning MTN around. CFO South Africa met with Ralph to learn more about the man behind the strategy and the awards. What emerged was a clear picture that this engineer has turned his mind to solving problems in telecommunications, finance and the African continent. By Georgina Guedes, CFO Magazine.

At the CFO Awards 2019, Sugentharen Perumal, executive: group finance operations at MTN, walked up to the stage to accept an award on behalf of Ralph Mupita, not once, but four times. He was accepting the awards because Ralph, MTN CFO, who was voted CFO of the Year, along with taking home the Strategy Execution, High-Performance Team and Finance Transformation awards, was unable to attend the awards ceremony. This was because he was in Nigeria, listing MTN Nigeria on the local stock exchange. This was a crucial step for the telecommunications giant, and also a significant contributor to the strategy that propelled Ralph to his CFO Awards success.

The Nigeria listing was the end point of a long-term plan to resolve some complex issues in the country. To say that MTN has had a difficult time in Nigeria in recent times is an understatement. Many of the issues were inherited when Ralph and CEO Rob Shuter took the helm two years ago, but it fell to them to resolve these various challenges, including a demand by the Central Bank of Nigeria for $8 billion of dividends to be repatriated to the country, a $2 billion tax demand by the Attorney General, and ensuring that the agreement related to the 2015 SIM registration fine of $1.6 billion is fully implemented. One of the conditions of the SIM registration fine was to list the business in Nigeria, which was achieved by 16 May 2019, the day after the CFO Awards.

Coming in a very busy and complex week for Ralph, his awards recognition was uplifting news – and he was glad that his team was there. “I am very appreciative of the recognition. For me it was really about my team. I’ve had a strong team working in the background supporting some of the listing activities. And some of those people were in the room for the awards. I’m glad they were there, even though I couldn’t be.” He added that he felt very humbled considering the “class acts” among the others who were nominated. “It couldn’t have been easy for the judges.” He does confess to a sense of relief that the two processes – the Nigeria listing and the “interesting” but intensive awards interview process – had come to an end.

The engineer in a finance role

 Ralph is an engineer by training. He went to UCT to study after completing schooling in his native Zimbabwe 30 years ago. “I worked on engineering and construction sites all around the Western Cape, then kind of drifted towards doing an MBA. In the middle of those studies, I realised I wanted to move away from engineering, and I ended up in financial services, working at Old Mutual for 17 years – even though I started with a one-year plan – and ultimately serving as the CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets.” Then, he received a call from Phuthuma Nhleko, the former CEO and non-executive chairman of MTN Group board. “Halfway through him drinking his tea, me drinking my coffee, he said, ‘How would you like to join MTN?’ Initially, I chuckled. Then I went home and asked my wife, Makole Maponya – who is a CA – what she thought of the proposition. I’d never worked in a CFO role. It took me all of two days to think about it. Having reflected, I felt I could take up the role and be part of a leadership team that would put the business into a stronger position to take advantage of the opportunities that digital and financial inclusion presented in Africa and the Middle East. MTN was looking for a CFO who could go beyond the traditional role of the CFO and add a few more things.”

Ralph did some further research and was reassured to discover that many global CFOs are not CAs, and that in South Africa, somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of listed companies’ CFOs also do not hold the qualification. “Obviously you need someone who understands numbers. And I see numbers as a language that tell me why things are the way they are. Having trained as an engineer, I am very comfortable with numbers. I believe the most important thing about them is that they have integrity.” While the change from being a CEO to a CFO was an unusual one, Ralph was encouraged when he recalled that one of the people he had looked up to, Tidjane Thiam, CEO of Credit Suisse, was once a CEO before taking on the role of CFO. “It’s unusual, but it happens.” He also points out that while bringing a financial services CEO into a telecommunications company might not seem like the most obvious move, there’s a certain logic to it. “At MTN, we firmly believe that the future of financial services is on the phone, so my appointment isn’t as unusual as it might appear on the face of it.”

The other experience Ralph had gained in financial services that was now becoming increasingly important was capital allocation and a focus on returns.

A curious mind

Ralph says that his curious mind has served him well as he’s shifted industries twice in his career. “I’ve always had the view that you must be constantly learning and have a mindset that says when you get into new situations, you should immerse yourself and become the situation you are in. I’m blessed that I am always curious and always able to adapt.”

He’s found mentors to support him in his learning and growth journey. “When I moved from engineering to finance, one of my mentors told me that there were five things that I needed to understand the industry and its value chain, and then those things each branch into another five things. It was a useful way to get a real grasp of the sector.”

He says that always being a bit of an outsider has helped him to ask interesting questions that deliver new insights. “Coming into financial services, the learning curve was pretty steep. There’s always a year to 18 months that’s difficult, and during which time I was learning every day.” He went through the knowledge acquisition process all over again when he joined MTN. “I’m still learning and will continue learning. There’s always that first 18 months of the steep learning curve, but then I get more comfortable and start picking things up almost intuitively rather than learning them.”

The other transition, that of moving from being the CEO to a CFO, also took some adjusting. “The CEO is where the buck stops, but a CFO needs to be an advisor, not only to the CEO but also to the company. It’s a strong advisory role. Also, the CFO is there to provide balance to decisions – to provide strategic thinking and highlight the financial effects of decisions. Or at least that’s how I work with Rob – providing balance, giving a risk-based view, providing clear options and working through the consequences of those options, and testing their soundness based on the data, instinct and history.”

He adds that he’d been fortunate to work with Rob before, when Rob was at Nedbank and Ralph was at Old Mutual, which was helpful in the transition. “I must also commend Rob for helping me on the learning journey because he had also made the transition from financial services to working in telecommunications, working for two years as a CFO at Vodacom, before becoming a regional CEO there.”

He says that he has to credit Phuthuma Nhleko for his support. The opportunity to work with Phuthuma was one of the benefits of joining MTN, as far as Ralph was concerned. Phuthuma, like Tidjane Thiam, has been a role model over the last two decades for Ralph. “He’s another engineer MBA, and engaging with him has helped me to learn a lot about the industry and business more generally. Between Phuthuma and Rob, I’ve learnt a lot.”

MTN culture and values

Aside from the change in industry and role, working in any new organisation comes with a cultural adjustment. “What was very helpful coming into MTN just over two years ago was that the values deep within the company are my own personal values – having a can-do attitude, teamwork is key, believing that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life, where digital connectivity and financial inclusion is critical. And as I have already mentioned, we’re making a difference on the African continent, which I am passionate about.” His engineering background means that he likes to solve problems. MTN presented him with the opportunity to do just this. “It’s in my DNA, my make-up to solve problems. And the more complex they are, the better. When I came to MTN in 2017, I was very mindful of the challenges the company was going through.

I was very clear, coming into the situation, that there was a need to make some changes, working with Rob and the broader team, to put the business in a more stable position. It has an industrial strength finance organisation and risk organisation, and I knew I was coming in with those key things.”

He says that when he came into the business, he had a list of three-year goals. The first was building a world-class finance function, and he has been making the necessary changes, and will continue to do so. The second priority was capital allocation. “I had the benefit of my financial services experience to see what happens when margins really come under pressure. So we had to reposition the business in a lower margin environment. We had to prioritise putting capital where the returns are going to be. We now have set out a very clear capital allocation process.”

His third priority was to enhance the risk control environment. And the final goal was to build a culture of excellence. “A culture of excellence never gets to its destination. It’s always improving.”

Read the full article here: https://cfo.co.za/magazines