Airtel Gets New MD

Lucy Quist(L) New MD and Philip Sowah(R) Former MD

Lucy Quist(L) New MD and Philip Sowah(R) Former MD

Airtel Ghana has appointed Lucy Quist as its new Managing Director.

Her appointment takes effect from the end of next month.

Lucy Quist becomes the first Ghanaian woman and the second woman in the history of the country to be appointed to head a telecommunications company.

The first woman to be appointed was Roshi Motman, a Swedish and MD for Tigo Ghana.

Lucy Quist is joining Airtel Ghana from Vodafone Ghana where she has been the Director for the Enterprise Business Unit.

Lucy Quist will be taking over from Philip Sowah, who has occupied that position for many years.

It's unclear exactly where Philip Sowah will be heading to, but Citi Business News has gathered he will be pursuing interests outside the company.

Airtel has however requested that Philip Sowah continues to play a governance role in its Ghana CSR Foundation.

Industry players say Lucy Quist's technical and business acumen, industry experience and in country perspective will play a pivotal role in driving the next phase of the company's journey outside the traditional consumer arena.

Her experience in the telecommunications industry in Ghana and across Africa is also expected to aid her in her new role.

According to figures released by the National Communications Authority (NCA) at the end of February this year, Airtel's subscribers hit about 3.5 million, representing 12.4percent of the market.

Lucy Quist joined Vodafone Ghana in 2011 as Head of Strategy & Planning and Managing Director of Vodafone's Wholesale Business.

In 2008, Lucy joined Millicom International Cellular (Tigo) as Head of Business Development for Africa and as Head of Northern Sector in Ghana before becoming the Chief Marketing Officer in the DRC.

Ms. Quist started her career in 1994 in automotive engineering with Ford Motor Company, working her way through design engineering, manufacturing and project management roles in the UK, Germany and Portugal.

She later became a Change Manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London as part of the RBS-ABN AMRO Operations merger team.

Lucy is a Chartered Electrical and Electronics Engineer and holds a first class Bachelor of Engineering degree and an MBA from INSEAD.

The CEO for Airtel Africa, Christian de Faria said, 'Lucy will be taking over from Philip Sowah, who will be leaving Airtel at the end of May to pursue interests outside the company. 'We have requested that he continues to play a governance role in our Ghana CSR Foundation. Please join me in welcoming Lucy on board and in wishing her success. I would like to thank Philip for his leadership and contribution to our growth in Ghana. I greatly appreciate his engaging approach which has placed us favourably with all our stakeholders, especially amongst the communities where we do business. We wish him every success for the future.'

As Managing Director for Airtel's business in Ghana, Ms. Quist's technical and business acumen, industry experience and in country perspective will play a pivotal role in driving the next phase of the company's journey outside the traditional consumer arena.

Prior to joining Airtel, Philip Sowah was the Chief Officer http://www.yatedo.com/s/jobtitle%3A%28Chief+Officer%29  of One Touch, the Mobile Division of the hitherto Ghana Telecom (now Vodafone).

He  has  been extremely influential in building Airtel Ghana from scratch to become one of Ghana's fastest growing network and one of the most successful and loved brands in Ghana today.

 
By:  Vivian Kai Mensah