KAMPALA —Saying good bye is never easy. Bidding farewell to a great leader, friend, business partners and colleague is even harder.
This was the mood at the Kampala Sheraton gardens last Friday evening as Wim Vanhelleputte’s friends and colleagues gathered to bid him farewell.
The colorful farewell cocktail party was graced by a cross section of Vanhelleputte’s friends, colleagues and business partners of MTN Uganda who came to bid him farewell on what had been his last day as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Uganda, a position he had held for six years, making him the longest serving MTN Uganda CEO.
In their remarks, his friends, regulators, stakeholders and business partners referred to him as an amiable gentleman who sought win-win situations at all times.
Vanhelleputte who was the MTN Uganda Chief Executive officer from July 2016 to July 2022 was described as a tenacious leader who saw the company through some of the most challenging times yet managed to set a track record of success for the company year after year.
While recapping Vanhelleputte’s six years at the helm of MTN Uganda, the company Chairman, Charles Mbire, in an emotional speech, described Vanhellleputte as a perfect, honest gentleman. Mbire summed up Vanhelleputte’s leadership in three simple words; “Numbers don’t lie”.
In her farewell remarks to Vanhelleputte, Yolanda Cuba, the MTN Vice President for Southern and East African MTN Markets praised him for the great leadership to MTN Uganda and congratulated him upon his promotion.
“To say you have been a remarkable leader is an understatement. I know you will achieve the kind of success that you have achieved here,” Cuba said.
In his parting remarks, Vanhelleputte thanked all his friends, colleagues and MTN staff for the great support that they rendered his during his tenure as the MTN Uganda CEO. He thanked his chairman, Mr. Mbire for his professionalism and described him as a remarkable business leader.
“I thank you all for your support over my tenure in Uganda. As I move on to my next role, I am confident that Sylvia (New MTN Uganda CEO appointee) will take us to the next level,” Vanhelleputte said.
Vanhelleputte was promoted to a regional role as Operating Executive for the WECA Markets of Liberia, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, and Congo-Brazzaville within the MTN Group effective Monday August 1, 2022.
