MTN Nigeria Hails Ikpoki’s Appointment

......Describes It As Triumph For Company’s Talent Development Programme

*Ikpoki

MTN Nigeria has said that the appointment of Michael Ikpoki as the first Nigerian CEO of the company demonstrates its strength in talent development programme.

An experienced lawyer, seasoned business executive and golf enthusiast, Ikpoki was until his recent appointment, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana. He replaces Brett Goschen, who has since been appointed MTN Group Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director on the Group Board.

According to Akinwale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, “Michael Ikpoki’s appointment lends credence to the company’s principle of building local talent and underscores the strength of our leadership development strategy and leadership succession pool.

“This is indeed a strong reflection of the MTN talent management creed; Management’s commitment to it and the quality and abundance of talent in MTN Nigeria, having regard to the status of MTN Nigeria as the biggest operating company within the MTN Group.”

Goodluck revealed that the new CEO started his career in telecoms with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). After six years with the NCC, he joined MTN Nigeria as a Regulatory Advisor in 2001, rising steadily through the ranks and receiving the quality of training, capacity building and exposure that are inherent in the company’s employee value proposition.

Michael Ikpoki became General Manager, Regulatory Affairs in 2004. Two years later, in 2006, he was appointed General Manager, Sales and Distribution and in 2007, the Sales and Distribution Executive for MTN Nigeria.  His appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana in April 2011 made him the First Nigerian in the MTN Group to attain this height.

He is however, not the only one.  Indeed, only a few months after Ikpoki was appointed CEO of MTN Ghana, another Nigerian, Karl Toriola, was also appointed CEO of MTN Cameroun.   

Several other Nigerians have since gone on to hold strategic positions across various MTN operations.

A seasoned business executive, Ikpoki is well read, with an academic profile that includes General Management Programme at Harvard Business School; Sales, from INSEAD Business School; Finance and Analytics, from Lagos Business School and LLB from Rivers State University of Science and Technology.

Nokia Tutors African App Developers On Its New Asha OS

L-R: Ogunwale Olalekan, Deployment and Integration Manager, Nokia; Jarmo Rintamaki, Head of Training Services, Nokia Developer Experience; Kesiena Ogbemi, Marketing Manager, Nokia West Africa and Adetunji Eleso, Director, Business Advisory, Co-Creation Hub Nigeria , at the media chat

L-R: Jarmo Rintamaki, Head of Training Services, Nokia Developer Experience; Kesiena Ogbemi, Marketing Manager, Nokia West Africa and Adetunji Eleso, Director, Business Advisory, Co-Creation Hub Nigeria ,

Nokia has organized a 2-day developer boot camp with the aim of training application developers on the functionality and unique features of the new Asha operating system. The training also equipped them with the necessary tools to build applications for the Asha devices using the new operating system, like the recently launched Nokia Asha 501.

The training which took place from 27-28 June was attended by 34 developers from various African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Kenya. During the course of the training, developers were taken through the features of the operating system and were introduced to new functionality through which they can create exciting mobile applications.

The new Asha OS will be available on the Nokia Asha 501 which arrives in local markets shortly. 

Partner Manager, Developer Experience for Nokia West Africa, Olumide Balogun, stated that the new Asha platform represents a fresh opportunity for Java and web developers across the globe to expand their creative prowess and build more locally relevant apps to delight customers.

“Since its launch in 2012, the Nokia Asha brand has witnessed strong growth in Africa, with great consumer adoption also in Nigeria. As technology evolves, we strive to constantly update the Nokia Asha experience and provide value for our customers,” he added.

In addition to great line up of global applications currently available on the new Asha OS, developers who participated in the boot camp were able to create 25 new local apps for the platform. These will shortly join other favourites such as CNN, WhatsApp, Facebook, Line, LinkedIn, Nimbuzz, Pictelligent, The Weather Channel, Twitter, WeChat, eBuddy, ESPN, Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Indiagames, Namco-Bandai and Reliance Games