Secretary-General Appoints Fayaz King of Zimbabwe Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Fayaz King of Zimbabwe as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as the Deputy Executive Director, Field Results and Innovation, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  He will succeed Shanelle Hall of the United States, to whom the Secretary-General and UNICEF are grateful for her dedicated service.

Mr. King recently served as the Chief Operating Officer at Econet Wireless where he was influential in digitally transforming the telecommunications company.  He served on the boards of Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe, Econet Burundi and Econet Lesotho, bringing to the position over 30 years of experience in innovation, business development, organizational and digital transformation.

He previously served as Managing Director at Bharti Airtel International and Celtel International, having worked in Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Mr. King has spearheaded the implementation of several technological innovations, including digital products, and overseen developments aimed at digitizing school education and health care.  He is a passionate driver of youth development and empowerment.

Mr. King also founded various entrepreneurial endeavours in the field of agriculture and food security, driving efficiencies through technology innovations.  He was Chief Executive Officer and Group Marketing Director at Innscor Africa Limited where he pioneered the growth of a range of products and services, from bread and confectionary to video games and entertainment, and expanded Zimbabwean business ventures in the region.

He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Zimbabwe in 1994 and completed several specialized courses at INSEAD, HEC Paris and Harvard Business School.