Irene Charnley (born 6 May 1960) is a former trade unionist and businesswoman from South Africa.
Irene Charnley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 May 1960 South Africa |
| Nationality |  South Africa |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Known for | Being a trade unionist who became a successful African businesswoman |
Career
editCharnley first made her mark on the African business community as a negotiator for South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers where she spent 13 years coordinating various divisions of union operations.[1][2] She went on to become an executive director for the MTN Group, which is Africa's largest telecommunications company.[according to whom?] Under her leadership several African and Middle Eastern countries (including Nigeria and Iran) were connected into the MTN network.[1] Charnley was the behind the founding of the National Empowerment Consortium made up of 50% black business owners and 50% black African laborers.[2] They eventually owned 35% of Johnnic Holdings (now called Johnnic Communications).[2]
Charnley left MTN under controversial conditions but she was worth US$150 million when she left.[1] In August 2000 she was awarded the title of Businesswoman of the Year for her outstanding contribution to taking Johnnic from an industrial conglomerate to a modern telecommunications media group.[2] During her time at Johnnic (from 1996 to the late-2000s) 32,000 disadvantaged South Africans bought shares in the company.[2] Financial returns over a three-year time span has made these 32,000 African residents 400% wealthier than they were before buying the shares.[3] A more recent award made Charnley one of the top 50 businesswomen outside of the United States.[2]
Charnley is currently the CEO of Smile Telecoms Holdings Ltd, a Mauritius-based Pan-African telecommunications group with operations in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa.[1]
Forbes listed her among "Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women" in 2020.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Irene Charnley career info at Forbes.com
- ^ a b c d e f Biography of Irene Charnley at AfricanSuccess.org.
- ^ "About Us - Key Management". Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ Africa, Forbes (6 March 2020). "Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women". Forbes Africa. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
External links
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