MultiChoice Nigeria has named Kemi Omotosho as its new Chief Executive Officer, entrusting her with the task of steering the pay TV giant through one of the most challenging periods in its history.
The appointment, announced on January 13, takes effect from January 2026. Omotosho will succeed John Ugbe, who is retiring after nearly 15 years at the helm of the company.
Read also: MultiChoice names Omotosho CEO as Ugbe retires
Her arrival comes at a time of deep strain for MultiChoice Nigeria, as high inflation, weak consumer spending, and currency pressures continue to take a toll. Within the group, Omotosho is widely seen as a steady and experienced hand, known for navigating complex markets under pressure.
A familiar face inside the group
With more than 20 years of leadership experience across media, telecommunications, and digital services in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa, Omotosho is no outsider to the business she will now lead.
She has spent over a decade within the MultiChoice Group, holding senior roles that cut across customer value management, regional operations, and full profit and loss leadership. Most recently, she served as regional director for Southern Africa, overseeing operations in seven countries and managing an annual revenue portfolio of more than 300 million dollars.
Before that, she was group executive head of customer value management for the rest of Africa, providing functional leadership across more than 50 countries. Earlier in her career, she led customer value management in Nigeria, a role that placed her at the centre of subscriber growth, pricing, and retention strategies in the company’s largest market outside South Africa.
Read also: MultiChoice slashes DStv decoder prices amid high subscription cost
Her professional journey began at Airtel Nigeria, where she spent a decade working across sales, enterprise accounts, postpaid usage, and customer service.
Leading through pressure
Omotosho steps into the role as MultiChoice Nigeria struggles with falling subscriptions and revenues. In its financial results for the year ended March 31, 2025, MultiChoice Group reported a decline of 1.2 million active subscribers, bringing the total to 14.5 million.
Nigeria accounted for 77 percent of the subscribers lost in the Rest of Africa segment, highlighting the scale of the challenge. Between April and September 2024 alone, the company lost 243,000 Nigerian subscribers as households cut back on spending and explored cheaper entertainment options.
The financial impact has been stark. Subscription revenue in Nigeria fell by 44 percent to 197.74 million dollars in the 2025 financial year, down from 355.93 million dollars the previous year. The group blamed rising inflation, currency pressures, and a worsening economic climate for the sharp decline.
A reputation for execution
Inside MultiChoice, Omotosho is known for disciplined portfolio management, strong governance, and the ability to execute at scale in volatile environments. She has led organisations through pricing resets, digital migration, operational disruption, and macroeconomic shocks, while maintaining a focus on customer value.
Read also: MultiChoice slashes DStv decoder prices by 50% after losing 1.4m subscribers
Among her notable achievements is the design and execution of the Africa-wide Step Up ATL campaign, which delivered 20 million dollars in incremental revenue within three months. She has also played a key role in embedding the group’s BOLDER culture and rolling out the Ubuntu Mastery Framework to strengthen leadership pipelines.
Her leadership style is defined by integration. She is recognised for bringing together sales, marketing, customer experience, finance, human resources, and regulatory engagement into a single operating model focused on performance and resilience.
Education and leadership development
Omotosho holds an executive MBA from Lagos Business School and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Ilorin. Her executive education includes programmes at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, IESE Business School, Gordon Institute of Business Science, Duke Corporate Education, and the Napers Leadership Catalyst. She was also selected for the chairman’s leadership programme at Harvard Business School.
Beyond her corporate roles, she has been involved in leadership development across the continent. She was an executive member of The Boardroom Africa between 2023 and 2024 and a mentor in the MultiChoice Africa Advancing Women programme. She is also a graduate of the MultiChoice Top Leaders Programme.
Her vision for Nigeria
Expressing her enthusiasm for the role, Omotosho described the appointment as both an honour and a responsibility.
“It is a privilege to be entrusted with the leadership of MultiChoice Nigeria at this important moment,” she said. “Nigeria is one of the group’s most strategic and dynamic markets. I look forward to working with our teams and partners to deepen our connection with consumers, promote local storytelling and the creative economy, and build a future-ready organisation that delivers sustainable value.”
As chief executive, she will have full statutory and leadership responsibility for MultiChoice Nigeria. Her mandate includes driving commercial growth across DStv, GOtv, and digital platforms, strengthening customer acquisition and retention, and leading operating model and performance transformation.
She is also expected to build a high-performing executive team, reinforce governance, and develop leadership capability and organisational culture.
