In a recent disclosure, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) announced that Phuthuma Nhleko has been appointed to its board as an independent non-executive director, effective July 1. He will serve as a member of the JSE’s Group Remuneration Committee, Group Nominations Committee and Group Deal Committee.
The C-suite executive will also serve on the board as chairperson-designate. This will set him on course to assume the duties of the chairperson from Nonkululeko Nyembezi, the current chairperson of the bourse, by May 2022 after the group’s annual general meeting.
The South African business mogul led the MTN Group from 2002 to 2019 as CEO and executive chairman. He has vast experience in telecom, organizational strategy development, operations, M&A, corporate finance and executive leadership.
He also served shortly as the CEO of MTN’s Nigeria operations. This subsidiary is now listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, with a market capitalization in excess of N3.29 trillion ($8 billion).
Nhleko’s transition to the helm of MTN came after Sifiso Dabengwa, the then-CEO, resigned in November 2015 following a record $3.9-billion fine in Nigeria after MTN missed a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered customers in the country.
As the country head, he spearheaded the team that negotiated with the Nigerian government for a reduced fine. The company ended up settling for $1.7 billion.
Nhleko leads Phembani Group (Pty) Ltd, an investment holding company founded in 2012 with South African billionaire Johann Rupert.
He also chairs the Phembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund. The fund has interests in petroleum, energy, cement and the resources industry.
