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Safaricom Plc has appointed two Vodacom Group executives to its board as Non-Executive Directors, in changes that also see two existing directors leave the board.
Vodacom Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Fintech Mariam Cassim and the group’s Chief Officer, Human Resources Matimba Mbungela, were appointed with effect from August 13, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The company announced the appointments alongside the resignation of James Ludlow and Dr (Eng) John Kipngetich Mosonik as Non-Executive Directors, also effective August 13.
In the announcement, Safaricom said Cassim brings experience in corporate finance, deal structuring, mergers and acquisitions, debt structuring, commercial management and executive leadership.
“Mariam Cassim is the Chief Executive Officer, Fintech at Vodacom Group Limited,” Safaricom said, adding that she has held senior positions within the group since 2017.
The company said her experience in innovation, business disruption and new business development has included developing commercially sustainable solutions aimed at creating value for businesses and society.
Cassim is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, where she graduated cum laude.
Mbungela has served as Vodacom Group’s Chief Officer, Human Resources since 2014, after previously holding various senior human resources positions within Vodacom and Vodafone Group.
Before taking up his current position, Mbungela served as Managing Executive, Human Resources for Vodacom/Vodafone Group from 2003 and also worked as Regional Head of Organisational Effectiveness and Change and Regional Head of Talent for Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific while on secondment to Vodafone.
Safaricom said Mbungela also spent six years overseeing talent management at Vodacom, where he successfully integrated the company’s talent strategy into Vodafone’s global strategy.
His previous experience includes senior human resources roles at BMW South Africa and Unilever.
Mbungela represents the Vodacom Employees Trust, known as Siyanda, on the YeboYethu Board and is a Non-Executive Director of Vodacom Tanzania, Vodacom Mozambique and Vodacom Lesotho.
He has also served as a director on the Unisa Graduate School of Business Leadership Advisory Board since June 1, 2020.
Safaricom said Mbungela holds a Bachelor of Administration degree from the University of Venda, an MBA in Strategy and Human Resources from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resources from the University of Cape Town.
The board thanked Ludlow and Mosonik for what it described as their “robust contributions” during committee and board meetings and wished them well in the future.
