Functional Specialists

Sima Varsani

Group Head of Sustainability

Joined 2020

Sima joined Helios Towers in May 2020 as the company’s first Group Sustainability Manager and developed our sustainable business strategy. She leads on reporting and transparency and she works with functions and teams across the business to drive our positive social and economic impact while reducing our environmental footprint.

She has previously held sustainability roles in consultancy as well as at the GSMA (the mobile industry association), Vodafone and Sainsbury’s.

Sima has a Classics degree from the University of Cambridge and is a British citizen.

Leon-Paul Manya Okitanyenda

Director of Integration

Joined 2011

Leon-Paul Manya Okitanyenda is Director of Integration, having acted as Group Technical Advisor for New Markets since August 2020. Previously, Leon-Paul held the position of CEO of Helios Towers DRC since January 2015, and was previously appointed Network Operations Director in February 2011.

Leon-Paul has over 21 years of experience in the Telecommunications industry. Prior to joining Helios Towers in 2011, Leon-Paul worked as a Sales Supervisor for Oasis SA (now Tigo), Contract Execution Manager at Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Project Supervisor for MER Group. Before MER Group, he was Operations Manager for Venture and Logistics Manager at Plessey Company plc. He holds a master’s degree in Economics Mathematics and is a Congolese (DRC) citizen.

Craig James

Group IT Director

Joined 2019

Craig James joined Helios Towers in October 2019, having previously been Head of Information Technology (‘IT’) at Ophir Energy, an African and Asian focused oil and gas exploration and production company. Craig has over 25 years’ experience in the field of Information Technology. He started his career at Barclays, has experience in the Telecommunications sector and previously held roles as Global IT Architect and Head of IT (Asia Pacific) at a FTSE 100 multinational mining organisation. Craig also has consulting experience with BP, AWE and Credit Suisse.

Craig holds IT industry qualifications and has over 15 years’ experience working across Africa. He also holds an MBA Essentials certification from the London School of Economics. He is a British citizen.