Ronelle Avril Cain
Johannesburg
Summary
Senior business leader with more than 16 years of progressive leadership experience across telecommunications, media, customer experience, digital transformation, business operations, organisational turnaround and strategic communications. My leadership journey has evolved from customer experience analysis and operational management into enterprise-level strategic leadership roles influencing organisational performance, customer engagement, reputation management, governance, stakeholder relations and executive decision-making. Throughout my career at Cell C, MultiChoice and MTN, I have led multidisciplinary teams and workforces of up to 150 employees, managed complex operational environments, driven transformation initiatives, implemented governance frameworks and delivered measurable improvements in customer experience, operational efficiency and organisational performance. My experience spans customer experience design, operational leadership, digital transformation, business turnaround, stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, organisational change and executive advisory support. Through increasingly senior leadership roles, I have developed practical business leadership capabilities acquired through professional practice, organisational impact and continuous learning. A committed lifelong learner seeking to complement extensive practical leadership experience with formal postgraduate study through the Postgraduate Diploma in Business Leadership (NQF 8).
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Manager: External Communications (Secondment)
MTN Group
Johannesburg
08.2025 - Current
- Provide enterprise-level strategic leadership and advisory support focused on organisational reputation, leadership positioning, stakeholder trust, strategic narrative development and reputational risk management.
- Advise senior executives and C-suite leaders on strategic communication and reputation-related matters.
- Shape corporate narratives that align business strategy with stakeholder expectations.
- Lead external communication strategies supporting organisational reputation and trust.
- Provide strategic counsel on reputational risk, issues management and brand positioning.
- Support executive visibility, thought leadership and leadership communications.
- Sustainability & Corporate Affairs
Senior Manager: Non-Voice Channels
MTN South Africa
Johannesburg
06.2022 - 07.2025
- Lead MTN's customer communication ecosystem across all digital and non-voice engagement channels, ensuring customer-centric communication, governance and communication effectiveness at scale.
- Directed customer communication strategies across social media, email, SMS, MMS, customer education and digital engagement channels.
- Managed customer sentiment and engagement initiatives aligned to customer experience objectives.
- Established communication governance frameworks across customer-facing touchpoints.
- Improved customer engagement effectiveness through strategic communication interventions.
- Strengthened alignment between customer communications and broader business objectives.
Senior Manager: Digital Command Centre
MTN South Africa
Johannesburg
07.2018 - 06.2022
- Provide strategic and operational leadership for MTN's Digital Command Centre with accountability for customer engagement, digital customer care, customer communication and operational performance.
- Increased digital customer engagement from approximately 30% to 80%.
- Designed and implemented the MTN Digital Care Academy.
- Introduced future-fit recruitment and capability development programmes.
- Implemented social media governance structures and technology solutions.
- Led MTN's first robotic process automation initiatives within the customer environment.
- Eliminated significant backlogs and implemented operational disciplines to ensure long-term sustainability.
Acting Head: Campaigns & Service Management
MTN South Africa
Johannesburg
10.2021 - 05.2022
- Appointed to lead the recovery of a strategically important customer operations environment through governance, operational discipline, process optimisation and commercial accountability.
- Led a large-scale turnaround programme focused on people, process and technology.
- Introduced governance frameworks, accountability measures and operational disciplines.
- Implemented policies, procedures and controls aimed at reducing inefficiencies and waste.
- Improved response rates from approximately 30% to between 80% and 85%.
- Reduced historical operational backlogs and improved service delivery performance.
- Established sustainable operating practices focused on efficiency, governance and commercial performance.
Senior Manager: Digital Customer Care
MultiChoice South Africa
Johannesburg
12.2013 - 07.2018
- Develop and execute MultiChoice South Africa's Digital Customer Experience strategy, transforming customer engagement through innovation, customer-centricity and digital service excellence.
- Developed and implemented a digital-first customer engagement strategy.
- Led social media, written correspondence, live chat, CEO escalations and online community engagement.
- Positioned DStv as South Africa's Most Socially Devoted Brand through customer-centric digital engagement.
- Achieved international recognition through multiple awards for Best Use of Social Media in a Contact Centre at Global and EMEA level.
- Designed and implemented the MultiChoice Digital Care Academy.
- Introduced live-chat, chatbot and customer engagement technologies that improved customer experience and operational effectiveness.
Contact Centre Manager
Cell C
Johannesburg
02.2013 - 11.2013
- Lead a national customer-facing contact centre environment supporting trade partners, customer service delivery and operational excellence.
- Improved service level performance, customer satisfaction and quality assurance outcomes.
- Strengthened collaboration between operational teams and trade partners.
- Implemented communication and knowledge-sharing frameworks to improve service consistency.
- Developed initiatives that enhanced customer service capability and operational effectiveness.
National Customer Experience Manager
Cell C
Johannesburg
08.2011 - 01.2013
- Design, measure and influence the end-to-end customer experience across Cell C's operating environment while ensuring customer insights informed executive decision-making and organisational improvement initiatives.
- Designed and mapped the customer journey across the organisation.
- Led Voice of Customer programmes, customer satisfaction measurement and service recovery initiatives.
- Conducted executive-level customer experience analysis and reporting.
- Contributed to the implementation of the VOC 360 framework.
- Acted as custodian for customer experience design across emerging digital and social channels.
- Influenced executive discussions relating to customer-centricity and organisational performance.
Customer Experience Team Leader
Cell C
08.2009 - 07.2011
- Lead a specialist Customer Experience Management team responsible for customer journey analysis, organisational insights and customer experience monitoring.
- Managed Customer Experience Analysts responsible for monitoring and evaluating customer journeys.
- Developed executive reporting and customer experience measurement frameworks.
- Pioneered the transition from traditional Quality Assurance measurement to Customer Experience auditing.
- Designed customer experience metrics and methodologies later adopted within the organisation.
Education
Certificate in Social Media Management -
Norcaz Training Academy
Johannesburg, GP10-2019
Leading Woman Programme - Leadership Development
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria
Johannesburg, GP10-2015
Certificate - Social Media for Marketing
Cerebra Academy (Wunderman)
Johannesburg, GP09-2017
National Diploma - Business Analysis
Affirmations Training / MICT SETA
Johannesburg, GP07-2025
Certificate of Higher Education - Principles of Business Management
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University)
Johannesburg, GP07-2021
Certificate in Strategic Management -
Astrotech
Johannesburg, GP07-2014
ETDP SETA Assessor Certification -
Cool Ideas / ETDP SETA
Durban, KZN05-2008
Six Sigma Attendance Certificate -
2 KO International Limited
Johannesburg, GP03-2013
Skills
- Strategic Leadership
- Business Strategy Execution
- Organisational Transformation
- Corporate Reputation Management
- Strategic Narrative Development
- Executive Advisory Support
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Operational Leadership
- Business Turnaround
- Governance & Controls
- Process Optimisation
- Operational Excellence
- Customer Operations
- Performance Management
- People Leadership
- Workforce Leadership
- Coaching & Mentorship
- Talent Development
- Change Leadership
- Organisational Capability Building
- Culture Transformation
- Business Impact
- Customer Experience Strategy
- Digital Transformation
- Customer Communications
- Risk Management
- Business Process Improvement
- Organisational Performance Improvement
Accomplishments
2017
Gold Award – Best Use of Social Media in a Contact Centre (Global), Las Vegas.
Gold Award – Best Use of Social Media in a Contact Centre (EMEA), London.
2015
Silver Award – Best Use of Social Media in a Contact Centre (Global), London.
Silver Award – Best Use of Social Media in a Contact Centre (EMEA), London.
References
- MTN SA, GM Customer Service & Operations - Ashraf Suleman - 063 682 9559
- MultiChoice SA, Executive Customer Experience - Marlon Samson - 0847770102
- MTN Group, SM External Communications - Mthokozisi Ndlovu - 083 209 2683
- MTN SA, GM Campaigns & Service Management - Thegan Naidoo - 083 200 5441
- Game On Performance, Executive Coach - Venessa Chetty - 082 686 8898
Timeline
Senior Manager: External Communications (Secondment)
MTN Group
08.2025 - Current
Senior Manager: Non-Voice Channels
MTN South Africa
06.2022 - 07.2025
Acting Head: Campaigns & Service Management
MTN South Africa
10.2021 - 05.2022
Senior Manager: Digital Command Centre
MTN South Africa
07.2018 - 06.2022
Senior Manager: Digital Customer Care
MultiChoice South Africa
12.2013 - 07.2018
Contact Centre Manager
Cell C
02.2013 - 11.2013
National Customer Experience Manager
Cell C
08.2011 - 01.2013
Customer Experience Team Leader
Cell C
08.2009 - 07.2011
Certificate in Social Media Management -
Norcaz Training Academy
Leading Woman Programme - Leadership Development
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), University of Pretoria
Certificate - Social Media for Marketing
Cerebra Academy (Wunderman)
National Diploma - Business Analysis
Affirmations Training / MICT SETA
Certificate of Higher Education - Principles of Business Management
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University)
Certificate in Strategic Management -
Astrotech
ETDP SETA Assessor Certification -
Cool Ideas / ETDP SETA
Six Sigma Attendance Certificate -
2 KO International Limited