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Telecom networks are usually judged by coverage and speed, but the systems behind them decide whether a customer can recharge, pay or send money in seconds. Shoyinka Shodunke has spent nearly three decades building that hidden layer. In March 2026 he became MTN Group’s Executive: IT Core Design and Delivery, a role that spans the company’s operations across Africa. This biography covers his education, career, awards and the thinking behind his latest assignment.
Who Is Shoyinka Shodunke?
Shoyinka Shodunke is a Nigerian technology executive with more than 29 years of experience in telecommunications. He serves at MTN Group as Executive: IT Core Design and Delivery, a position announced in January 2026 and effective March 1, 2026. Before that, he was Chief Information Officer of MTN Nigeria, where he led digital programmes that reached more than 80 million subscribers and oversaw a technology organisation of over 350 professionals.
Some reports describe the new role with slightly different titles, such as head of IT core design and delivery. The company’s official title is the one used here.
Shoyinka Shodunke’s Age and Early Life
Shodunke’s date of birth has not been published, so his exact age cannot be stated. Websites that offer a number rarely cite a source. This article leaves it out rather than guess. What the record shows is a career that began in 1995, which fits the “more than 29 years” of experience that MTN cites.
Shoyinka Shodunke’s Education
His academic background combines technical training with management study. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Mathematics and Statistics, with a focus on operations research, from a Federal University of Technology in Nigeria. Reports differ on the campus, so this article does not name one. He also earned an MBA from the University of Northampton and a Postgraduate Diploma in Global Management from the University of Salford in Manchester. He later completed an Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.
The sequence is revealing. A mathematics and statistics degree builds comfort with data and systems. The management qualifications prepared him to lead large teams and budgets, which is the work of a senior technology executive.
Early Career: Oil, Then Telecoms
Shodunke began in 1995 as a systems analyst at Texaco Overseas Petroleum Company, now Chevron Nigeria. In 2001 he joined MTN Nigeria and spent seven years across various roles in its IT department. During that time he received the CIO’s award for excellence for designing and implementing a postpaid credit and payment management process that was named best in class in Nigeria.
He returned to MTN Nigeria in 2012 as General Manager for IT Service Delivery and later served as Acting CIO. In between, he built experience in other markets, which gave him a view of how the same telecom systems behave in different regulatory and economic settings.
A Career Across African Markets
His group experience is unusually broad. He served as General Manager for Architecture at the MTN Shared Services Hub in Southeast Africa, Chief Information Officer at MTN Zambia, and Chief Technology and Information Officer at MTN Cameroon. He was also Director of Technology at Vodafone Ghana. Some reports add that he held the CIO role at MTN South Africa at the same time as his Nigeria post, though accounts are not fully consistent on this point.
The common thread is architecture. Moving between operations taught him where systems can be standardised and where local conditions demand differences. That is precisely the problem a group-wide IT design role has to solve.
First Nigerian CIO of MTN Nigeria
In 2021, MTN Nigeria appointed him Chief Information Officer. He was the first Nigerian to hold that position, which had been occupied by expatriates since the company launched about two decades earlier. The appointment fit a broader effort to localise the senior management team.
In the role, he led large-scale digital initiatives and a technology organisation of more than 350 people. Nigeria is MTN’s biggest operation by subscribers, so decisions made there carry weight for the whole group.
The New MTN Group Role
From March 1, 2026, Shodunke leads the development and delivery of standardised, AI-enhanced IT architectures across MTN’s operating companies. His responsibilities include integrating AI-driven automation and predictive analytics, with the aim of improving customer experience, operational efficiency and speed to market.
The logic is practical. When each country runs a different technology stack, new products take longer to launch and costs rise. A shared core design lets a feature built once be deployed in many markets. The role also fits MTN’s stated shift from a traditional telecom operator to an AI-enabled technology organisation.
Awards and Recognition
In 2025, Shodunke was named MTN Group CIO of the Year for his part in the company’s digital transformation. He also received the Tech Champion in Telecoms award and a CIO of the Year honour at the CIO and C-Suite Awards Africa.
His View on Africa’s Digital Future
In February 2026, he spoke at a technology conference about what he calls the fourth digital revolution. His argument is that the main inputs are now data, cloud and talent, not heavy capital investment, which gives Africa a chance to lead instead of follow. He named leadership as the biggest obstacle, ahead of money or skills, and warned against legacy thinking, fear of disruption and comfort with mediocre results. He pointed to MTN Nigeria’s move beyond basic connectivity into cloud services, fintech and artificial intelligence as an example.
Why Shoyinka Shodunke Is Trending
His name has stayed in searches since his group appointment took effect in March 2026. The role puts him at the centre of how one of Africa’s largest telecom groups builds and runs its systems, and it arrives as MTN pushes harder on AI and digital platforms. Readers looking for a clear profile of the person behind that role are the main source of the interest.
Family and Personal Life
Shodunke keeps his private life out of public view. No reliable source documents a spouse or children, so this biography lists none. Treat with caution any website that claims otherwise without a verifiable basis.
Shoyinka Shodunke’s Net Worth
No credible publication has reported a verified net worth for Shodunke. Figures that circulate online are guesses. Executive pay at listed companies is disclosed in formal filings only for certain senior roles, and nothing reliable ties a specific personal fortune to him. Until a reputable source documents a figure, the accurate answer is that it is unknown.
What His Journey Teaches
Three lessons stand out. First, breadth builds judgment. Working across several markets taught him which systems can be shared and which cannot. Second, technical depth and management training reinforce each other, and he pursued both. Third, trust is earned by delivering inside the same organisation over many years, which is how a career that began in an oil company’s IT department reached a group-level executive role.
