Brian Gouldie, MTN SA

MTN SA chief marketing officer (CMO) Brian Gouldie has been appointed as the new CEO of one of the group’s multinational operations.

In a statement, MTN said Larry Annetts, the current CMO of MTN Nigeria, would replace Gouldie, who has been marketing head of the operator’s South African business since August last year.

MTN operates in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. MTN SA CEO Zunaid Bulbulia says
the company has “a strong leadership succession pool” and is confident Gouldie will make a meaningful
contribution as a CEO.

According to MTN, in the 10 months since his appointment, Gouldie has been responsible for redefining the competitive position of MTN SA. He has launched prepaid and postpaid converged products, with the most recent being the 79c voice and data offerings.

“These have been instrumental in reaffirming customer affinity in the South African market. Furthermore, he spearheaded the delivery of the financial services portfolio, MTN Mobile Money, and launched the industry’s first Internet service bundles and radio streaming proposition.”

Bulbulia says the marketing exec played a key role in re-positioning MTN SA in the industry and implemented multiple strategic initiatives that have bolstered MTN’s role as a strong competitor. “This experience, as well as the role he played in Nigeria, will serve him well in his new role.”

Gouldie’s first executive position was at MTN Nigeria, as customer operations executive. MTN says Annetts has substantial marketing experience and has worked in the telecoms industry for over 15 years.

“In [Annetts’] most recent role as CMO of MTN Nigeria, he established MTN as the biggest distributor of music.”