Safaricom Plc appoints Wim Vanhelleputte as CEO of Ethiopian Subsidiary

Wim 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 from 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 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’s 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.

The Telco is planning  for a seamless transition to ensure that its  maintain the momentum so far in delivering the vision to transform lives through a digital future for all Ethiopians.Stated in a statement

”Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Wim, and once again thank Anwar Soussa for his contribution as the first CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia”.The notice read from the Telco