Orange Botswana is poised to lose another senior manager after the departure of the youthful Chief Executive Officer, Thapelo Lippe. The company?s Marketing Manager, Kago Mmopi, is on his way out to joining Barclays Bank Botswana. He would be assuming the position of Marketing Manager at Barclays ? a post that has been vacant in the past 18 months.
Barclays? Head of Corporate Affairs, Mike Klinck, confirmed the appointment of Mmopi from Johannesburg on Friday. The new Marketing Manager would be joining Barclays at a time when the company is having a bull run at the stock exchange. The blue-chip bank?s shares are bubbling, even surprising the bank?s management. Even after splitting its shares, traders are still keen to put their bet on Barclays.
On why he was leaving the cellular company, Mmopi, who is 33, said the bank would give him the chance to optimize his potential.
?As you know, there are a lot of commercial banks in the country and competition is very intense and it will give me the opportunity to test my marketing skills,? he said. He would be taking up his new appointment on March 5.
At Orange, Mmopi was largely seen as Lippe?s blue eyed boy and he is credited for assisting in turning the fortunes of Orange. The duo saw Orange increasing its customer service by over 60 percent and profits swelling significantly, from P800,000 to over P10 million in a record time of twelve months.
Mmopi joined Orange in March last year, a few months after Lippe was roped in to lead the company. He is leaving Orange at a time when the focus was on him, with skeptics watching closely to see who, between him and his former boss, played a bigger role in turning around Orange?s fortunes. In a previous interview, Mmopi did not want to attribute the new found fortune of the cellular company to any individual, saying it was because of team work.
?That performance was achieved largely because of team work and I don?t see that momentum going down because of the current motivation and dedication,? he told The Sunday Standard. Before joining Orange, Mmopi was the Commercial Manager at the once troubled national airliner ? Air Botswana.
