Ahead of the retirement later this year of Paul Norman, MTN Group has announced the appointment of Mitwa Ng’ambi as the MTN Group Chief People and Culture Officer, joining the Group Executive Committee no later than 1 September 2026. We also announce changes to the leadership of subsidiaries MTN Côte d’Ivoire and MTN Zambia.
“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 at MTN and having made a significant contribution to the business over almost three decades.”
– Ralph Mupita, President and CEO, MTN Group
Mitwa is currently CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire. She will be succeeded by Abbad Reda, who is the CEO of MTN Zambia. Abbad, in turn, will be succeeded by Larry Annetts. Larry’s last role was as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Commercial Officer seconded to Irancell.
All new CEO appointments are effective no later than 1 September 2026.
“I would like to congratulate Mitwa, Abbad and Larry on their appointments and wish them well in their work to deliver on our strategic ambition under Ambition 2030. Paul has made an invaluable contribution to MTN success, and we will have an opportunity to thank him and celebrate this in the second half.”
– Ralph Mupita, President and CEO, MTN Group
Earlier this year, MTN Group adopted a refreshed strategy for the next five years: Ambition 2030. It reflects confidence in the enduring structural growth opportunities in extending digital and financial inclusion across Africa. Making these appointments from internal candidates talks to the depth of talent we have within the Group, and the effectiveness of our succession planning processes.
Mitwa brings to the Group more than 15 years of leadership experience in African telecoms, gained in 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.
Apart from his role as CEO of MTN Zambia, Abbad’s other senior positions include at MTN Afghanistan, MTN Liberia and MTN Ghana. Abbad is a highly skilled executive with a proven track record of turning around operations, fostering innovations and surpassing targets. A customer champion, he is a key contributor in improving customer experiences and is seasoned executive with a track record for delivering market share, revenue, and profit growth.
Larry’s career at MTN spans over 29 years, during which he has driven commercial growth, digital transformation and product innovation across diverse markets. In addition to his Irancell secondment, he also previously worked at 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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