WINNING WITH PEOPLE: Meet Airtel’s A-Team leading the telco’s next phase of growth into the future  Over the last decade, Airtel Uganda has distinguished itself as one of the fastest-growing telecoms, making a remarkable comeback from a struggling and outcompeted pioneer telco, in the very early 2000s to becoming a very strong co-leader with 49% market revenue share and 47.3% subscriber market share and a leader in average revenue per user (ARPU). At the heart of this has been consistent ahead-of-the-curve investment” into a “triple play of accessibility (modern technology and network), simplicity (products) and affordability (pricing)”.

Having laid a strong foundation, the company is now looking to its next phase of growth built on a strong purpose⏤ transforming lives, using pioneering technology that ensures increased reach and penetration, as an enabler. To lead this customer-centric vision and ensure brilliant execution in the marketplace, Manoj Murali, the man leading that next phase of growth has assembled a team of 12 experts, each of whom is an expert in their respective fields. 

To deliver Airtel’s “winning with people agenda” of being the employer of choice with a diverse and inclusive high-performance work environment, each of these 12 leaders must cascade this purpose down to their respective teams, ensuring sustained future-ready talent that is highly engaged.

Manoj, the Managing Director of the Company, is a telecom stalwart with over 22 years of experience in the telecom industry across various roles and geographies. A Bharti Airtel veteran, he joined the telco that is now one od the world’s largest, in 2001 and has held various roles such as Hub Chief Executive Officer at Airtel Tamil Nadu. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Instrumentation & Electronics from the University of Poona in Pune, and MBA from Symbiosis International University.

Manoj Murali arrived in Uganda from Airtel India where he handled different roles across geographies in India as well as at the Corporate Office. He also had stints in international operations in Sri Lanka, Seychelles and the Channel Islands.

His most immediate role, before Uganda, was Chief Executive Officer for the Tamil Nadu and Kerala regions for Airtel. Prior to this, he held other roles including; Chief Operating (Executive) Officer in Rajasthan and Business Head (Chief Operating Officer) in Andhra Pradesh. He joined Bharti Airtel in 2001 and combined, he brought with him to Uganda, over two decades of experience in the telecom industry across various roles. 

Since arriving at Airtel, he has been a linchpin in accelerating Airtel’s growth. 

Upon arrival, he successfully led the regulatory requirement to separate the fintech and GSM arms of the telco, leading into the creation of Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (AMCUL) as the fintech arm, while the GSM business remained Airtel Uganda, that he leads.

Under his leadership, the GSM arm continues to grow⏤ by 16.3%, from UGX1.29 trillion in 2020 to UGX1.51 trillion while net profit grew 41.9% from UGX277 billion to UGX393 billion. In 2022, turnover grew 6% from UGX1.51 trillion to UGX1.6 trillion. Net profit however reduced 17% from UGX393 billion to UGX326 billion. 

Airtel Uganda, projects to grow revenue by 16.6% to reach UGX1.86 trillion while net profit is expected to reach UGX461 billion- a growth of 17.3%. This growth is anchored mainly on a 7% growth in voice revenue and a 33.6% growth in data revenue- all powered by a 17.1% growth in the customer database.

Manoj has also successfully led the telco’s historic Initial Public Offering in which it is giving a chance to Ugandans to own 20% of the company, valued at UGX800 billion.  

Who are the other leaders?

Amit Kapur

Chief Commercial Officer

Amit has over 19 years of experience in commercial business largely sales and marketing. Before joining Airtel, Amit worked in India as the Business Head for Karnataka Circle for Vodafone Mobile Services Limited in Karnataka.

He has held various senior sales roles in PepsiCo India Holdings PVT. Ltd, Britannia Industries Limited, Coca-Cola India Inc, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages PVT Limited, Agro Tech Foods Limited and Blow Plast Limited.

Amit holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management – Calcutta and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Delhi University. 

Ali Balunywa

Sales & Distribution Director – Core Markets

Ali has over ten (10) years of experience in various commercial roles within sales, from lower levels to leadership and across Fast Moving Consumer Goods and telecommunications namely EABL/Diageo, British American Tobacco and Airtel Uganda. 

He  has a Master of Arts in Public Administration and Management and a Bachelor of Mass Communication, both obtained from Makerere University.

Henry Kamau Njoroge

Marketing Director

Henry has over eighteen (18) years of progressive strategic planning and commercial execution experience with leading multinationals with over ten (10) years in top leadership.

He started his career at Citibank Nairobi as a Relationship Assistant, before moving to Equity Bank as a Credit Officer and later PWC as Senior Associate. Henry then joined Airtel Kenya as Assistant Manager of business Planning and Strategy and grew to the role of Head of Department for Commercial Planning, Insights and Retention, and was later appointed Marketing Director for Airtel Kenya in 2010.

Henry holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the University of Nairobi and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Henry is an alumnus of both INSEAD (through the Global Leadership Programme) and Harvard Business School (HBS) (through the Senior Executive Programme for Africa – SEPA).

Michael Opwonya

Supply Chain Management Director

Michael has a Master of Business Administration from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute and a Bachelor of Statistics (Hons).

Prior to joining Airtel Uganda, he worked as a graduate Trainee at National Council of Science and Technology- Ministry of Finance Uganda.

He then joined Celtel Uganda as a Financial Analyst, Procurement Officer, Administrative Officer, Operations Logistics Manager, Projects Transition Manager, Contracts and Logistics Manager, Planning Reports and Compliance Manager and Procurement Manager.

Michael joined the Airtel Uganda on 3 May 2003.

Allan Andrew Ssemakula

Enterprise Director

Allan has been the Enterprise Director since March 2019. He previously worked as Commercial Director with Hima Cement being responsible for its commercial operations in Uganda, Rwanda, East DRC and

Southern Sudan. He joined Hima Cement as the Marketing Director responsible for Marketing, Business Development, Go-To Market, Innovations and Corporate Communications before taking over the entire Commercial Department. During his employment with Uganda Breweries, he worked as a Division Sales Manager, Sales Operations and Strategy Manager and Sales Capabilities Manager. He has also worked with Total Uganda Limited serving in various roles within the Retail Department. He is a lawyer by training, giving him a rich experience in not only commercial management in multinational operations in Africa but also experience in corporate and business law.

He holds a Bachelor of Legal Laws from the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre in Kampala, CEO Apprenticeship and Finance certification from Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, and he completed the Executive Academy Programme in Marketing and Commercial from HEC University of Paris