South African telecom MTN has appointed Pieter Verkade as its new chief commercial officer (COO), replacing the retiring Christian de Faria.
The appointment is effective from February.
Verkade is currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of MTN Cyprus, and will be responsible for the strategic direction of the group’s products and services, as well as the group’s marketing.
MTN Group President and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa said: “We believe that Pieter possesses the right combination of experience and expertise to drive MTN’s strategic agenda to deliver relevant and competitive value propositions to our customers across segments.”
Dabengwa added that the appointment has been made at a vital time for South Africa’s second largest telecom, given that the environment it operates in is changing so quickly.
“We have entered a phase where network operators have to compete on more than just products and services,” he said. He also thanked de Faria for his work with MTN.
“On behalf of the MTN Group and all our employees, I would like to thank Christian for his sterling contribution to MTN’s growth,” he said. “His energy, enthusiasm and passion for the MTN people, our customers and communities will be missed by all.”
Prior to taking up his current position at MTN Cyprus, which is the second largest operator in the country, Verkade served as executive for commercial strategy and mobile money. Prior to that he was chief marketing officer for MTN in South Africa. He has also worked for Orange, in the Netherlands, UK and Belgium, and Telenor in Norway.
