Airtel Africa Chooses Carl Cruz to Head Nigerian Subsidiary

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Nigerian subsidiary of a leading telecommunications and mobile money services provider, Airtel Africa Plc, will now be led by Mr Carl Cruz.

A statement from the telco disclosed that the appointment of Mr Cruz as the chief executive of Airtel Networks Limited, the Nigerian arm of the firm, takes effect from Friday, May 5, 2023. He takes over from Mr C Surendran.

Airtel Africa operates in 14 countries across Africa, with Nigerian its largest market.

With this appointment, Mr Cruz joins the Executive Committee as the Regional Operating Director, reporting to the CEO of Airtel Africa, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, who once occupied the position before heading the parent company.

“Mr Cruz brings to Airtel Africa a wealth of business experience, exceptional track record and strong values. He has a solid record of accomplishment as a strategic and transformational business leader who thrives on problem-solving and building strong teams to deliver business growth.

“We look forward to working with him to steer our largest region and to deliver on our corporate purpose of transforming lives,” Mr Ogunsanya commented on the development.

Mr Cruz has over 31 years of business and corporate experience from multiple geographies across Africa and Asia. In his most recent position,

He served as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Unilever in West Africa, with responsibility and oversight of three listed operating companies, including Nigeria, Ghana, and Francophone Africa.

He was a board member in the role of Executive Director in Unilever Nigeria Plc and a Non–Executive Director on the board of Unilever Ghana, representing Unilever as a shareholder.

Prior to this, he was the Chairman and Managing Director of Unilever Sri Lanka, in addition to occupying leadership roles in Unilever Philippines and Hindustan Unilever India.

Throughout his career, Mr Cruz, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management from the University of De La Salle, Philippines, has managed strategic and directional responsibility in sales, distribution, customer and brand development, trade development and commercial engagement.