Wim
Vanhelleputte has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer for
Safaricom Ethiopia effective 1st September 2023. He takes over from
Anwar Soussa as Safaricom
Ethiopia’s second CEO. According
to a statement announcing his new appointment, Mr. Vanhellepute brings
extensive leadership experience and deep industry knowledge, having worked in
the telecommunications industry across multiple markets in sub-Saharan Africa
for over 25 years.
He joins Safaricom Ethiopia from MTN Group, where he was the
Operations Executive – Markets since August 2022 and he was responsible for the
performance and governance of four operating companies in West and Central
Africa. Immediately before this, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of
MTN Uganda, a role he held since 2016.
Between
2009 to 2015, Wim was the CEO of MTN Cote d’Ivoire. He joined Airtel Africa
briefly between 2015 and 2016, first as Regional Director – Francophone Africa,
then as Cluster CEO for Airtel DRC and Congo. Wim has also held senior roles in various other
telecommunication companies including Chief Executive Officer at Sentel GSM in
Senegal, Managing Director of TchadMobile in Chad, and General Manager at
Telcel Gabon.
He began
his career as an Associate Engineer at Westinghouse Energy Systems Europe in the Czech Republic, before joining Siemens Atea as a Project Engineer in Zimbabwe,
then as a Residential Project Manager in Gabon.
Wim is a
Belgian National. He holds a Bachelor Degree in General Engineering and a
Master’s degree in Nuclear and Solid-State Physics, both from the State
University of Ghent. He also holds a Special degree in Power Plant Management
from the Free University of Brussels.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
