MTN Group has announced a series of leadership changes anchored by the appointment of Mitwa Ng’ambi as its new Group Chief People and Culture Officer, succeeding Paul Norman, who is retiring later this year after 29 years with Africa’s largest telecoms company.
Ng’ambi will join the Group Executive Committee no later than 1 September 2026. Her elevation to the group level sets off a chain of leadership transitions across two subsidiary markets, with new chief executives being named for both MTN Côte d’Ivoire and MTN Zambia.
Who Is Mitwa Ng’ambi
Ng’ambi is one of the most well-travelled executives in MTN’s stable. She brings more than 15 years of telecom leadership experience across several African countries, including Zambia, Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. During her career, she has led business turnarounds, organisational restructuring initiatives, merger integrations, market repositioning programmes and digital and AI-driven transformation projects.
Her previous leadership roles include CEO positions at MTN Cameroon, MTN Rwanda, Airtel Tigo Ghana and Tigo Senegal. Most recently, she has been serving as CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire, from where she will return to MTN Group’s head office in Johannesburg to take up her new role.
Paul Norman’s Legacy
Norman joined MTN in 1997 and has spent nearly three decades shaping the group’s people agenda. His leadership has been instrumental in building MTN’s reputation as an employer of choice and in advancing diversity, inclusion, and leadership excellence throughout the organisation. He also serves as a director on several boards within the MTN Group, contributing expertise in organisational development and governance.
MTN said Norman’s contributions would be formally recognised and celebrated in the second half of the year..
Internal Succession as Strategy
MTN was deliberate in framing all three appointments as internal promotions, using the announcements to signal the strength of its talent pipeline. “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,” Mupita said.
The changes come as MTN executes on Ambition 2030, its refreshed five-year strategy focused on extending digital and financial inclusion across Africa. Placing a seasoned, pan-African operator like Ng’ambi at the head of the group’s people function signals that MTN views talent development and cultural cohesion as critical to delivering on that ambition, particularly as it deepens its investments in fintech, connectivity, and digital infrastructure across the continent.
