MTN Group on Monday announced the appointment of Karl Toriola as chief executive officer (CEO) of its Nigerian subsidiary.
Mr. Toriola thus becomes the second Nigerian to occupy the position after Michael Ikpoki who was CEO from 2013 to 2015.
He takes over from Ferdi Moolman who will return to South Africa to assume the new role of group chief risk officer.
Both appointments will take effect from March 1, 2021.
Toriola is currently vice president for MTN Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region.
A statement from MTN says: “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.”
MTN group president and CEO Ralph Mupita says of Toriola: “Karl brings extensive technical and commercial experience, as well as a deep understanding of the Nigeria market to the role.
“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.”
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.
