MTN Nigeria bids COO Jaber farewell after 29 years’ service

MTN Nigeria executives, staff and partners on Friday honored its Chief Operating Officer (COO), Hassan Jaber, as he bowed out of the MTN Group after 29 years of dedicated service and leadership.

He will be replaced by Ayham Moussa as the new COO of MTN Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, in his farewell speech in Lagos, highlighted the contributions of Jaber to the growth of the organization.

Toriola described Jaber as a dedicated staff, whose personal relationships and professional leadership was instrumental to MTN’s success.

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He said that Jaber, in his 29 years career in MTN, drove progress, fostered a culture of efficiency and delivered effective solutions.

“Jaber’s strategic direction has been instrumental to MTN Nigeria’s commercial and technical successes.

“He is a trusted colleague and brother. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him since 2006, and he has delivered exceptional results.

“He worked relentlessly with the rest of the team to secure the renewal and modification of MTN Nigeria’s lease agreement with IHS Towers.

“This move will have a lasting impact on the company’s financial growth and expansion,” he said.

Toriola said that the lease would be extended from 2025 to 2032, to enable the company manage forex expenditure and diesel costs.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jaber’s career at MTN began in 1998 as Information Technology (IT) Manager at Spacefon (now MTN) in Accra, Ghana.

He played a pivotal role in developing the company’s technology strategy and aided its IT department growth in Benin and Liberia.

He later served as Chief Information Officer of MTN Yemen and MTN Syria, before rising through the ranks to lead MTN as CEO in Guinea, Sudan and Afghanistan.

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He became the youngest CEO within the MTN Group at age 32.

Before becoming COO at MTN Nigeria in 2022, Jaber served as COO at MTN Iran.

During his tenure, he spearheaded MTN’s operations, solidifying the company’s position as a leading telecommunications service provider for millions of subscribers, and driving market share and revenue growth.

NAN also reports that MTN Group announced some appointments following Jaber’s retirement.

Mohammed Rufai was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Congo-Brazzaville while Moussa will serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MTN Nigeria.

Rufai will take over the CEO position at MTN Congo-Brazzaville on Sept. 1, while Moussa will resume on Aug. 19.