MTN CEO to leave South Africa for the UK
Outgoing MTN CEO Rob Shuter has been appointed as CEO of UK telecommunications company BT Group’s enterprise division.
Shuter is currently serving the remainder of his term as MTN Group CEO, a position he is set to step down from when his contract ends in March 2021.
In a statement on the company’s website, BT Group said that Shuter would be appointed both as BT Enterprise CEO and as a member of BT Group’s executive committee.
“I’m delighted to welcome Rob to BT. He brings a wealth of international telecoms experience and has a track record of driving innovation in business and consumer markets,” said BT Group chief executive Philip Jansen.
“This will make him ideally suited to drive forward the support we provide to UK businesses and public sector organisations.”
“The UK’s economic recovery will depend on their success and BT wants to play a key part in supporting these critical parts of the economy,” Jansen said.
Shuter said he is looking forward to joining BT Enterprise, which he is expected to do by the end of the 2020/21 financial year.
Incumbent BT Enterprise CEO Gerry McQuade will retire from the company, Jansen said.
Critical year ahead
Speaking in an interview with MyBroadband earlier this year, Shuter said that he remained focused on the year ahead at MTN Group.
“This is a critical year and I have no intention of coasting to the finish,” he said. “Once I get through that I will take a break and reflect.”
“I don’t want to be distracted during such a critical year. We would have liked for it to be an easier year but of course, the macroeconomic environment is not on our side,” Shuter added.
Shuter said at the time that he would take a well-deserved rest after his tenure at MTN ends, stating that he has no concrete plans beyond that.
“I came back to South Africa on a four-year assignment – I loved my time here,” Shuter said. “It has been the greatest privilege of my working career, but it has been enormously challenging.”
Shuter said that, in general, CEO succession is not well-handled in South Africa and MTN is determined to have a smooth and seamless handover.
“I have an on switch and an off switch, but I don’t have a medium switch, so we are going to be fully engaged over the next 12 months,” he said.
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