Emma Okonji
MTN Nigeria has announced the appointment of Mohammed Rufai as its Chief Technical Officer.
He will be responsible for defining MTN’s Technology Strategy and roadmap; designing and planning all aspects of the business’ network operations; oversee continued implementation of aggressive network rollout schedules; development and maintenance of technology infrastructure, as well as policy formulation and review.
An industry veteran, Rufai brings with him almost two decades of experience in information and communication technology and telecommunications. He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi as well as certifications from the General Management Programme at Cranfield University, the Global Advance Program at Duke Corporate Education, India and the Senior Management Programme at the Lagos Business School.
Prior to this appointment, Rufai worked with MTN Group where he was the General Manager responsible for Technology in the South-east Africa and Ghana region. He had a lengthy career within the MTN Group.
Rufai joined MTN Nigeria in 2002 as an RF/BTS Support Engineer in Kano. By 2009, he had risen to the rank of General Manager. He led a succession of high performing teams in network operations, access, planning and optimisation till late 2015 when he was appointed Chief Technical Officer for MTN Ghana.
While in Ghana, Rufai drove an expansion in network capacity that supported tremendous growth. During the period, voice traffic more than doubled, while data usage increased over 900 per cent. He was twice adjudged ‘CTO of the Year’ at the Ghana IT and Telecoms Awards (GITTA). Rufai also led the license acquisition and implementation of a newLTE network for which his team received the Engineering Excellence Award from Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE).
Commenting on the appointment, Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue said: “We are excited to welcome Mohammed home from his excursion across the continent. From the beginning, he has demonstrated professionalism in all engagements, and a drive to improve processes and outcomes continuously. His extensive experience and leadership will serve us well.”
