Staying for the long haul

Zunaid Bulbulia says MTN SA, like many other companies with a big presence, has a responsibility to lift people out of the spiral of poverty.

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One thing that instantly stands out about MTN SA's new CEO is his staying power.

Zunaid Bulbulia has been with MTN since its infancy almost 20 years ago and has been with his wife for 23 years. He's clearly a man with stickability, although it could also indicate timidity rather than tenacity. On meeting him, one quickly realises it's the latter.

He's kept a relatively low profile despite being the CFO of MTN SA since 2005 and recently adding the role of heading MTN Business. Bulbulia finally stepped into the top slot at MTN SA when the former CEO, Karel Pienaar, became the group's chief strategy officer.

I ask if the move is rejuvenating, and he says his previous dual roles were so demanding that he didn't really need revitalising. "If anything, I was hoping to take a bit of a breather, but God has a sense of humour. He doesn't do things on your terms."

Bulbulia enjoys his privacy and doesn't clamour to be the centre of attention. "I don't think I have to be swinging from the lampposts to do a good job," he says.

Yet he's adept at handling the limelight as an amusing and confident speaker who can't resist a dig at his rivals. "Every MTN executive has been quite private; we just get on with building up the business. While Vodacom has been doing media, we've been building a company that's now 10 times the size of theirs."

While Vodacom has been doing media, we've been building a company that's now 10 times the size of theirs, Zunaid Bulbulia, MTN SA.

Bulbulia was initially assigned to MTN as a young consulting accountant when it was a start-up with big ideas and few customers. "When you came as a consultant, you pretty much took your life in your hands. You didn't have a desk or a computer or anything; you just came in and found somewhere to sit and work."

Balancing the books must have been a doddle with no customers, I suggest, but apparently not. "It was a lot more complicated because there was nothing here. No bank account or processes to follow for invoices or purchase orders. You pretty much made it up as you went along, and if you were firm enough in how you set it up at the start, that's how it remained. It was very exciting because it was virgin territory and such a kick for a youngster. I'd been out of university for two years after spending time in my dad's business."

His father ran a shoe shop in Johannesburg's Oriental Plaza, and I automatically glance at his shoes. They look expensive. "Rockport, the most comfortable shoes in the world," he says. "They're elegant and comfortable. It's like finding the perfect woman."

The Internet transforms people's lives, and when you marry mobile and the Internet, the combination is powerful, Zunaid Bulbulia, MTN SA.

Since he believes he's done that too, I can't resist asking if he never gets bored or fancies a change of scene in either his career or his domestic life.

"If I'm getting thrilled by what I'm doing, I'm going to stay. If I'm not, I'm going to go," he says. "In Fatima I've found an angel on Earth. She's gorgeous, funny, intelligent, she loves me - what more could I want? She's the one person who keeps me interested. MTN is the same in that I've done financial, sales, marketing and run the distribution. I've looked after call centre services and after companies when we bought them and had to bring them into MTN. I've done more in one company than most people do in a lifetime of moving from one to another," he says. "And with Fatima, we've done more together than guys have done by having 20 girlfriends because we find new ways to be adventurous and silly together. Now we do it with the kids as well, which is such a kick."

Typically his weekends start with 150km of cycling with his bike club. Four knee operations have curtailed his enthusiasm for football, but he can cycle, run the Comrades and complete a half Ironman. "I can still do straight-line sports," he jokes.

Then he'll spend time with their five kids and his wife's family, and every Sunday they have lunch with his mother as a religious celebration.

When it comes to work, he has a vision of turning MTN SA into a player that improves the entire economy. "The Internet transforms people's lives, and when you marry mobile and the Internet, the combination is powerful. MTN is ideally placed to bring that to Mr and Mrs Consumer. The way it will transform this country is phenomenal," he says.

"Something like 30% of South Africans earn less than R499 a month. Isn't that the most frightening statistic? The only way we can change that is if we lift people out of this spiral. MTN, more than anyone else, has that ability. We're a global brand, and because of the investments we've made in undersea cables, we can change the picture for South Africa."

By lowering prices, I ask? Lower tariffs from MTN are only part of it, he says. It also needs cheaper devices and cheaper international connectivity. "We can use our muscle to negotiate better rates with overseas brands, so it's about us putting the ecosystem in place, and because we have such a big presence, I think we can do that."

He likens his goal to MTN's entry into Nigeria, where doing business was near impossible because there were no landlines and, thanks to horrendous traffic, it could take four hours to travel 2km in Lagos. The cellular network changed everything, he says.

Since SA has gone way beyond that stage already, Bulbulia's ambitions to make a country-changing impact sound a little nebulous, but certainly well worth watching.

First published in the August 2013 issue of Brainstorm magazine.