Telecommunications group MTN South Africa has appointed Tumi Chamayou as chief enterprise business officer for South Africa, effective October 1.

In addition, effective September 1, the company appointed Ernest Galelekile as the new executive for channels in commercial operations.

Chamayou is currently the group executive for MTN’s Enterprise Business Unit, having joined the team in 2018 as large enterprise sales GM.

During her group tenure, she added immense value, overseeing growth, first in the multinational and large enterprise segments and, later, she added the small and medium-sized enterprise client segment teams and drove the overall strategy and operational alignment through various programmes across MTN’s markets that has seen growth exceed more than 28% year-on-year between the period of 2020 and 2022.

“Tumi has made a significant contribution to our Group Enterprise Business Unit, and in our pursuit of realising our strategic goals of fostering business expansion, revolutionising customer satisfaction and revitalising employee involvement. It is paramount we enlist individuals with the requisite capabilities, which describes Tumi to a tee. I am confident that her extensive expertise will play a significant role in elevating our commercial and operational facets as we endeavour to provide an enhanced customer experience,” says MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi.

Prior to joining MTN, Chamayou played a key role as management consultant at Egon Zehnder’s technology and telecommunications, private equity and family business advisory practices.

She was also a VP at Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa, covering 43 countries in the region, and a member of the region’s leadership team, where she managed various functional areas, including the strategy, marketing and communications, corporate and social responsibility units, in addition to chairing the regional diversity and inclusion council.

Galelekile also brings a wealth of experience to his new position, having previously held various leadership roles within both the MTN Group and MTN South Africa.

As the new executive for channels in commercial operations, Galelekile will be responsible for overseeing the strategic development and management of distribution channels across the organisation.

“His familiarity with the company is well-established, having made significant contributions during his tenure. Notably, he served as the KwaZulu-Natal regional operations GM, where he played a pivotal role in enhancing commercial competence and driving market share growth in both the enterprise and consumer portfolios,” says Molapisi, highlighting that Galelekile's achievements extend beyond MTN with key roles at Nedbank, SAB Miller and Unilever.

"Ernest’s appointment marks an important milestone for us. His proven track record of leadership and extensive experience within the MTN Group makes him an excellent fit for the role he has been appointed to, and we are confident his strategic insights and proficiency in channel operations and management will contribute significantly to our ongoing growth as we move towards achieving our Ambition 2025 strategy.”

“Ernest and Tumi’s appointments reflect our commitment to fostering internal talent and harnessing the expertise of individuals who understand the intricacies of our industry, poising us to elevate our operations and make great strides in our mission of connecting people, businesses and communities to South Africa’s best network in every corner of the country,” concludes Molapisi.