The Board of ntel, Nigeria’s first 4G/LTE-advanced network, on Monday announced the appointment of Mr. Ernest Akinlola as the substantive managing director/chief executive officer of the company.
The Board said that Akinlola, a senior executive with over 20 years’ experience in telecoms media and technology, joined One 2 One telecoms operator in the United Kingdom and was instrumental in establishing its internal audit and compliance department.
A statement by ntel read in part, “As head of department, he led the assessment and subsequent launch of Virgin Mobile UK on the One 2 One network, which proved to be the pioneering MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) at the time.
“Following One 2 One’s acquisition by T-Mobile, Akinlola was a key member on the integration team, leading on commercial strategy and growing the wholesale side of the business to launch several MVNOs focused on specific customer segments.
“He was an integral member of the team charged with executing Virgin Mobile’s $1.5bn IPO. Many senior roles followed, including leading the transformational rollout of T-Mobile’s store retail programme.”
It added, “Having led teams in marketing, sales, finance, strategic planning, business development and operations in blue chip telecoms companies, he was headhunted as chief operating officer by Lycamobile (the world’s largest international MVNO) to lead its European strategy, successfully expanding into 10 countries within two years.
“Following this notable success in Europe, Ernest focused on Nigeria’s telecoms sector and was approached to lead a major marketing drive for Etisalat, the fourth entrant in a highly competitive telecoms market.
“As marketing director, he spearheaded a range of initiatives that took Etisalat from the fourth ranked operator to the second, in terms of Average Revenue per User and active customer base.
“Immediately prior to joining ntel, Akinlola was a strategic consultant to several blue chip organisations, including BlackBerry Nigeria, the World Bank, and most recently, provided strategic oversight to Swazi Mobile in formulating a commercial strategic plan for the successful application of a 4G VoLTE, 3G, 2G licence in Swaziland, South Africa. This has underpinned the impressive growth of Swazi Mobile in less than three months of operations.”
Akinlola is a Fellow of the Chartered Certified Accountants, and holds a MBA from the Manchester Business School with a first degree in Economics from the UEL.
Commenting on his new appointment, Akinlola said, “I am excited to be appointed MD/CEO of ntel, Nigeria’s pre-eminent 4G/LTE network. ntel has tremendous untapped capabilities, which can provide a step change in customer experience for large enterprise, Small and Medium Enterprises and consumers.
“I look forward to leading the team in driving innovation and delighting our current and future customers.”
ntel had previously assured its stakeholders that the transition from the previous leadership would be smooth and orderly in accordance with global best practices.
“We are pleased to report that there has been no adverse impact on the business operations and the company will like to thank the Chief Financial Officer, Abhulime Ehiagwina, for holding the fort during the transition period,” the firm said in a statement.
(Punch)
