New Vodacom CEO
Pieter Uys was in the defence force in 1988 when he heard about Alan Knott-Craig, a charismatic boss at Telkom.
In uniform, he knocked on his door and asked for a job.
He told Knott-Craig he had to go and build microwave towers but would much rather work for him. Uys was transferred the next day.
The working relationship between the two has endured.
When Vodacom started up in 1993, Knott-Craig asked Uys to join him to build “the next generation” mobile company.
Uys, chief operating officer at Vodacom working directly under CEO Knott-Craig, was on Friday named as the latter’s successor from October 1.
Vodacom said Uys “played a major role in the first phase of the planning and roll-out of Vodacom’s GSM network, which at the time was the fastest roll-out in the world”.
He was responsible for the launch of the Vodacom Internet Company, has been managing director of Vodacom SA, and was appointed chief operating officer of Vodacom Group in 2004 and chairman of Vodacom SA in 2005.
Uys has filled in for Knott-Craig as CEO, including for a two-month stint last year.
He said he would not tamper with “a winning recipe”.
Describing Knott-Craig as “a strong leader who tells you what he wants”, Uys said his style is more consultative — although he has learnt from his predecessor never to delay making decisions.
Uys takes over at a time of uncertainty for Vodacom, whose 50% shareholder Vodafone plans to increase its stake by 12.5%, ending the uncomfortable 50/50 ownership split between Vodafone and Telkom.
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