Former JSE boss Nicky Newton-King joins MTN fintech board

Former JSE boss Nicky Newton-King has joined the board of MTN’s financial services business, one in a raft of leadership appointments made by the telecom group this week.

On Wednesday, Africa’s largest mobile telecom company announced the appointment of four nonexecutive directors to the boards of its MTN Group Fintech and Bayobab businesses.

Herman Bosman has been appointed independent chair of MTN Group Fintech with Newton-King and Nosipho Molope as new independent nonexecutive directors on the board.

The group is working to carve out a separate fintech unit, a process that now sees the unit operating separately with its own management, customer base and reporting structure.

MTN has long argued that the value of such assets is not truly reflected in its share price. 

In January, payments giant Mastercard invested R3.8bn in MTN’s fintech business as part of a plan to partner with industry experts to help grow that new revenue line. The transaction values the unit at $5.2bn (R92.5bn).

The board appointments are the latest move to shore up the business, while strengthening governance. 

Bosman, whose appointment is effective from July 1, “brings a wealth of experience and leadership” to the financial services unit, having previously served as CEO of Rand Merchant Investment Holdings and RMB Holdings.

He holds a BCom and LLM from the University of Johannesburg and is a chartered financial analyst (CFA) at AIMR in the US.

“His understanding of the financial services industry and strategic acumen will be invaluable in guiding MTN’s fintech strategy and operations,” MTN said.

Newton-King “brings extensive experience in legal, business, capital markets, banking and regulation”, MTN said of the former JSE CEO who also serves as a director for MTN Group. Her appointment takes effect from September 1. 

Molope, whose appointment is also effective from September, is a former CFO of SA’s Financial Services Board. She has extensive experience in MTN operations, having previously served on company boards including in SA, Cameroon, Uganda and Zambia, among other posts. 

Molope, also a independent nonexecutive director for MTN Group, will chair the fintech board’s audit and risk committee.

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said in a statement: “Building leading fintech and digital infrastructure platforms in Africa is a key part of the Ambition 2025 strategy. These appointments align with the focus of accelerating growth, completing the structural separations and bringing in value-adding strategic partners into the shareholder bases of these businesses over the medium term.”

On the same day, the group announced that its former COO Jens Schulte-Bockum had been appointed nonexecutive chair of Bayobab, the group’s recently rebranded infrastructure business, formerly MTN Global Connect. 

Schulte-Bockum’s appointment also takes effect from September 1. He has been a nonexecutive director of Bayobab since 2021.

“Jens brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of digital infrastructure businesses across Europe and Africa,” the group said.

gavazam@businesslive.co.za