Nairobi — Wim Vanhelleputte will take over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC starting September 1.
He will replace Anwar Soussa, whose over two-year leadership will be ending on Saturday.
Vanhelleputte joins the telco from MTN Group, where he has been serving as Operations Executive since August 2022.
“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Wim Vanhelleputte as the Chief Executive Officer of the Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia PLC effective 1st September 2023,” Safaricom announced on its LinkedIn page.
“Wims brings extensive leadership experience and deep industry knowledge, having worked for over 25 years.”
Soussa, who is the founding CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, led the establishment of the organization and the launch of mobile money services in the Horn of Africa country.
From 2016 until last year, Vanhelleputte served as CEO of MTN Uganda. Between 2009 and 2015, he was also the CEO of MTN Ivory Coast.
A Belgian national, he holds a Bachelor’s Degree in General Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Nuclear and Solid-State Physics from the Free University of Brussels.
“As Wim joins us, we have planned for a seamless transition to ensure that we maintain our momentum so far in delivering our vision to transform lives through a digital future for all Ethiopians.”