Book publisher appoints editor as regional director

Oxford University Press (OUP) has reorganized its management in Africa in its quest to explore growth opportunities in the region. Under the new structure, John Mwazemba, who was general manager for East Africa, has been promoted to regional director of Oxford University Press East Africa (OUPEA). In addition to Kenya, John will now oversee OUP’s business in Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.

Mr Mwazemba started his publishing career at Macmillan, and went on to work for an NGO, before becoming CEO at Phoenix Publishers.

An accomplished editor – he has consulted for the World Bank, the United Nations, and many other government and non-governmental organizations – Mr Mwazemba joined OUP in June 2016, where he has has led the team in navigating significant challenges, winning some huge tenders along the way.

The changes were announced by Fathima Dada, Managing Director of OUP’s Oxford Education Division.

Meanwhile, Ms Hanri Pieterse has been appointed to the new role of MD of OUP’s business in the East and Southern Africa region excluding South Africa. Both roles are effective from 1 April 2019.

“Africa is an important part of the OUP portfolio, and a fast growing region, demographically and economically – I see a good future here for the Press,” Ms Dada said. “We need to align to both the growth opportunities and the market conditions in order to make us more responsive and more efficient.”

This strategic reorganization of OUP’s business will better position the company to capitalize on the rapidly changing education industry, while aligning the business to meet the customers’ needs, optimizing the value of its published works, and improving efficiency of its operations in Africa.

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Hanri started her career at OUP South Africa where she was Publishing Director for Education, Academic, Trade, and Dictionaries. She then spent many years at CUP in a number of very senior roles, including  Managing Director for their Sub-Sahara African operation, and Managing Director of Education and ELT globally (based in the UK), working extensively in Asia, Latin America, USA, and Europe.  In April 2018, Hanri took the interim management role in ORBiA (Oxford Regional Business in Africa), where she has made great progress in shaping our business for future success.

Ms Dada said John and Hanri “are two experienced leaders who I know will be successful in implementing OUP’s strategic vision in our African markets.”

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