Sitho Mdlalose appointed as Vodacom SA's new MD

The Vodacom Group has announced the appointment of Sitho Mdlalose as managing director (MD) of Vodacom South Africa. Mdlalose's appointment comes after the group announced that Balesh Sharma (current Vodacom SA MD) will be stepping down at the end of June to pursue an external career opportunity.

10 May 2022

Sitho Mdlalose appointed as Vodacom SA's new MD

Mdlalose is currently MD of Vodacom Tanzania, a position he has held since August 2021. He will report directly to Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub and will join the Vodacom Group executive committee. Mdlalose's successor in Tanzania will be announced in due course.

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.

Mdlalose worked at Vodafone Group for over six years prior to joining Vodacom Group and 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 of Vodacom Tanzania in 2021.

Vodacom South Africa MD Balesh Sharma resigns

31 Mar 2022

“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,” the group said in a statement.