Johannesburg – MTN Group announced today that it has appointed Kelebogile (Lele) Modise as its new Group Chief Legal Counsel. Lele will report to Group President and CEO Rob Shuter and will join MTN Group’s Executive Committee.

Lele joins MTN from Absa, where she was Head of the Transaction Management Group (TMG), responsible for the delivery of end-to-end deal execution services, consisting of legal structuring and solutioning, deal administration, deal co-ordination and post-deal management services.

Lele began her career at Bell Dewar & Hall (now Fasken Martineau) and was admitted to the High Court as an attorney in 2003. She went on to be a partner at Bowman Gilfillan, specialising in Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions.

She is skilled in the areas of capital markets and securities law, banking and finance, corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. Lele has also worked extensively across Africa.

Lele holds a Masters in Banking Law from UNISA, a B.Proc (LLB Exemption) from the University of Pretoria and certificates in Securities Law as well as Banking Law and Financial Markets.

She will be replacing MTN Group Chief Legal Counsel, Michael Fleischer, who will be retiring from MTN at the end of July 2019.  Lele’s start date will be announced in due course.

Michael has been part of the MTN family since 2014 and is a respected member of the Group Executive team, having provided invaluable guidance and insights as the company navigated some of its most challenging times as a business.

Rob Shuter said, “We are so pleased to welcome Lele on board. We feel fortunate as a company to have someone with her calibre and experience joining our leadership team. We have no doubt that she will be an asset to our organisation.”

“What stood out to us about Lele was her extensive insight and expertise in navigating Pan-African and cross border strategic investments and transactions. Her passion for the continent and its development is evident through the strategic work that she has done throughout her career. As a leading emerging market operator, we believe that this passion will go a long way in helping us to achieve our strategy and positioning within the markets in which we operate.”

Shuter added “We wish to thank Michael for the skill and commitment he has shown in heading up the Group Legal team over the past five years. Michael has been a huge support to MTN over that period and to me personally and we wish him the very best as he embarks on this new chapter in his life.”