UTL appoints new Managing Director
Mr Mark Shoebridge has been promoted from Chief Fixed Services Officer of UTL to the position of Managing Director
What you need to know:
Uganda Telecom (UTL) has appointed a new managing director to replace Mr Ali Amir who resigned from the company in March 2015.
Kampala. Uganda Telecom (UTL) has appointed a new managing director to replace Mr Ali Amir who resigned from the company in March 2015. Mr Mark Shoebridge has been promoted from Chief Fixed Services Officer of the company to the position of Managing Director.
His appointment, according to a statement from the company was effective May 21, 2015. Shoebridge becomes UTL’s third managing director since 2012.
“Mark’s achievements while working as Chief Fixed Services Officer are commendable. We are confident that his experience and expertise will be very valuable to Uganda Telecom and I look forward to working very closely with him to continue Uganda Telecom’s turnaround,” said Mr Stephen Kaboyo, UTL’s Board Chairman.
UTL has struggled to impress over the years with the company accumulating debt, dragged to court over unpaid interconnection charges and UCC was also looking into plans to have the company closed. The auditors had raised concerns on whether UTL can continue to operate since losses have bogged down its operations.
Mr Shoebridge’s appointment means he has the task to turnaround the company; seek new investment in a competitive market. He has also been at UTL since 2013 and boasts of telecoms and IT experience spanning 20 years.
“Uganda Telecom has the potential for growth and my mandate will be to evaluate growth areas and continue the massive push for all round improvement in performance and rapid deployment of market changing initiatives,” Mr Shoebridge commented.
Government has a 31 per cent stake in Utl. The company is reported to have Shs366b liabilities which, outstrips its asset base Shs220 billion, according to an audit report by the regulator, UCC. Libya’s LAP Green owns the rest of the stake and is also the largest creditor of UTL.
