MTN South Africa chief technology and information officer Giovanni Chiarelli is stepping down after five years. He will leave the group at the end of the month.

Chiarelli oversaw significant investment in MTN’s network in South Africa and led a significant improvement in network quality and performance – to the extent that independent third parties like Ookla now regularly report that it’s far ahead of rivals Vodacom, Telkom and Cell C.

In a letter to staff about Chiarelli’s resignation, seen by TechCentral, CEO Godfrey Motsa said: “It is important to remember that IT systems and networks cannot be fixed by money alone. It requires a team of dedicated people, working through the length and breadth of the organisation, developing the strategies, the operational, management and maintenance plans, always with a clear vision for the future. This is how Giovanni delivered Mzansi’s Bozza network.”

Chiarelli joined MTN in November 2016 from Vodafone Romania, where he was CTO. He has 22 years of experience in IT, working for multinational corporations such as Infostrada, Accenture, Telecom Italia and Vodafone Group.

“The Chiarelli household has made huge sacrifices for MTN, not in the least when Giovanni was separated from his family for 12 months through the worst of the South African and Italian lockdowns,” Motsa said in his letter to staff.