TheCable

The board of ntel, a Nigerian telecommunications network, has announced the appointment of Ernest Akinola, former Etisalat marketing director, as its chief executive officer.

In a statement shared with TheCable, Osondu C. Nwokoro, ntel’s director, external affairs,  said the transition period did not have any adverse impact on the business operations of the country.

“Having led teams in marketing, sales, finance, strategic planning, business development and operations in blue chip telecoms companies, Ernest was headhunted as COO by Lycamobile (the world’s largest international MVNO) to lead its European strategy, successfully expanding into 10 countries within two years,” the statement read.

“Following this notable success in Europe, Ernest focused on Nigeria’s telecoms sector and was approached to lead a major marketing drive for Etisalat (9 Mobile), the 4th entrant in a highly competitive telecoms market.

“As marketing director, he spearheaded a range of initiatives that took Etisalat from the 4th ranked operator to the 2nd, in terms of ARPU and active customer base.

“Immediately prior to joining ntel, Ernest 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, license in Swaziland, South Africa.”

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, SMEs and consumers. I look forward to leading the team in driving innovation and delighting our current and future customers.”

Ernest, a fellow of The Chartered Certified Accountants, holds an MBA from Manchester Business School with a first degree in Economics from UEL.