Sitho Mdlalose appointed as Vodacom South Africa’s Managing Director

Vodacom Group announces the appointment of Sitho Mdlalose as Managing Director (MD) of Vodacom South Africa, effective 01 July 2022. Sitho is currently the Managing Director of Vodacom Tanzania, a position he has held since August 2021. He returns to Vodacom South Africa to assume the role held by Balesh Sharma, who leaves the company at the end of June to pursue an external career opportunity. Sitho will report directly to Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub and will join the Vodacom Group executive committee. Sitho’s successor in Tanzania will be announced in due course.

Sitho is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ACCA) and a Harvard Business School Senior Executive Programme graduate. An established business leader, Sitho has over 20 years of experience in finance, consulting and management, 13 of which have been in telecommunications across both emerging and developed markets.

Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub says: “I am confident that Sitho is the ideal candidate to lead Vodacom South Africa in a challenging economic climate that will require proactive innovations to adjust to shifts in customer behaviour. His in-depth experience, financial and business acumen, strong interpersonal skills and proven track record make him an obvious choice for this important role. I’d like to offer my personal congratulations to Sitho as we celebrate yet another internal promotion, showcasing the strong bench of executive talent at Vodacom.”

Sitho worked at Vodafone Group for over six years prior to joining Vodacom Group. Sitho has held various leadership roles including Chief Finance Officer for International Business. He was then Interim Group Chief Finance Officer and Finance Director for Vodacom South Africa, before being appointed to MD, Vodacom Tanzania in 2021.

During his short tenure at Vodacom Tanzania, Sitho demonstrated solid leadership in driving the delivery of Vodacom’s business strategy. His charismatic leadership has been a strong asset to rally support amongst key stakeholders surrounding the business, including policymakers, customers and staff. Sitho has also led the Tanzania business through multiple strategic negotiations which have positioned its operations for recovery and future growth.

In 2020, Vodacom Group announced the creation of a standalone South African operating company as part of a simplification of its structure following the expansion of its African portfolio and accelerated growth ambitions on the continent, including financial and digital services.