Mteto Nyati will take over as the new CEO of Allied Electronics (Altron), having spent two-and-a-half years at MTN, first as head of the enterprise business and then group CEO.
Before that, Nyati was the MD of Microsoft SA and, briefly, GM of the MEA emerging regions. He joined Microsoft from IBM SA, where he was director of IBM Global Technology Services.
Nyati holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He also studied at Yale University and, in 2004, was named a Yale University World Fellow.
He will assume the Altron CEO role no later than 1 July 2017.
Robbie Venter will step down as chief executive, but will remain on the Altron board as a non-executive director.
Altron chairman Mike Leeming comments: “The Altron Board embarked on a global search for a suitable candidate with the necessary global leadership experience and business orientation with a solid track record in the ICT sector. Mteto has in-depth blue chip technology experience having been at IBM for 12 years and six years at Microsoft prior to joining MTN in October 2014.
“He has extensive experience in both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. We are extremely pleased to have him on board and are confident that he, the board and Robbie will work well together during the handover phase.”
Venter says that he and the family remain committed to the Altron Group. “The Altron Group has been my life and it has been a privilege to be at the helm of an organisation of such stature and to lead employees of the calibere that we find throughout the Altron Group.
“While we have gone through highs and troughs during my tenure, I have always been moved by the professionalism of all employees of the group as they have positively embraced the various changes we have implemented for the good of the organisation as a whole.
“The Venter family will continue to be involved in the group, both as shareholders and their representation on the doard as non-executive directors,” Venter says.
Nyati comments: “To be appointed to the helm of an organisation that has been in business for 51 years is both an honour and a challenge. It is an honour in that Altron has a strong legacy of leadership and innovation in the markets in which it plays. It is a challenge as the information technology and telecommunications sectors are fast evolving and in order to stay ahead of the curve, organisations like Altron continually have to re-invent themselves in order to stay relevant and competitive in the changing business landscape.
“I look forward to working with Robbie during the transition period and engaging with the Altron Board and all employees of Altron as we take the Group into the next phase of its growth.”
