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Being at the helm of MTN Uganda for just over a month now, Brian Gouldie is very optimistic for what the future holds for him and his team in Uganda.
“I am very excited to be leading MTN Uganda into the future as it seeks to improve its market leadership position in a very competitive market. It is with enormous anticipation that I have arrived in Uganda to continue with the successful legacy that has been built. There is a very skilled leadership team in place and I am looking forward to working with them. I personally have had the privilege of working in a number of different operations in the MTN Group and am very excited to start this new challenge in Uganda” said the new CEO of MTN Uganda, Brian Gouldie.
With more than 20 years experience in the telecommunications industry and being a founder member of MTN, Brian has had a rich career. A qualified chartered accountant by trade; he has worked in both South Africa (15 years) and Nigeria (5 years) and has extensive knowledge in both start-up and maturing markets.
Gouldie has held a substantial number of executive positions over his tenure; the two most recent was for MTN South Africa, where he was appointed as Executive of Consumer Sales and Distribution, and most recently as Chief Marketing Officer. A visionary and catalyst for change, Brian believes that sound strategy delivers solid results. Some of the key highlights in his career included:
• Founding MTN SA – In 1994, he was part of the original team that launched MTN SA
• Launching prepaid cellular services–Launching prepaid or better known Pay As You Go, A world first, he played a pivotal role in the team which took it to market in 1998
• Launching MTN Nigeria – He was part of the original start up team that launched MTN Nigeria in 2001. He led the Sales, Distribution and Operations team as executive from 2001 to 2006.
• Launched MTN Zone – He was part of the launch team that took the MTN Zone product to market in 2007 (MTN Group and world first)
• Launch of Mobile Money – He spearheaded the launch of Mobile with an integrated banking platform in MTN SA in 2011 and within less than two monthsthey gained more than 300 000 subscribers.
Asked what he sees as strategically importantto MTN, Gouldie commented; “Our leading position in the financial services market, through Mobile Money, plays a critical part of MTN’s evolution and future success. Financial inclusion is as critical to consumers as communications accessis. By integrating these two business models, MTN will have the ability to enable our customers even further.”
“As the most trusted brand in Uganda, it is essential that we continue to invest in the latest technology to keep our customers’ money secure, allow for greater integration into the broader banking system and substantially improve the customer experience of Mobile Money. It is to this end that MTN will investing substantially by upgrading its financial services platform in the next two months. We have the most extensive Mobile Money distribution network and this technology upgrade will provide our distribution agents with more business opportunities.”
“In addition, MTN needsto continue its investment in fibre technology, our 4G roll-out, corporate products and solutions, through this we believe we will enablefurther efficiencies for our corporate customers and in turn future growth for the country.”
Gouldie continuedby sharing some of his most resent observations; “In assessing the Ugandan market opportunities, since my arrival, I was very pleased to see the results of the independent assessment done by the UCC which was published on Friday 8th August.”
“This clearly positions MTN as the leading network operator with respect to Quality of Service. It isa reflection of our extensive investment strategy in Uganda and the benefits that our customers have been receiving pertaining to call quality and set up.This independent assessment also indicated that our investment has not been limited to Kampala, with MTN having a clear leadership position in other important cities like Mbale, Jinja, Kasese, Kabale, Masaka and Mbarara.”
In conclusion,Gouldie commented; “It is critical that MTN continues to grow from strength to strength as we remain relevant to our customers through our products, solutions and brand investment in the country. We need to enable our customers not only to access voice communication, but also to unearth the multiple opportunities which data and the internet can provide. The growth in this digital world will drive economic development and enable access and opportunities never experienced before.”
