New Vodacom CEO ready
Pieter Uys takes over from Alan Knott-Craig as chief executive at Vodacom at the end of September — at a time when the company is facing a new set of challenges.
Under Knott-Craig Vodacom grew from the launch of cellphones in South Africa to dominate the local market and now also has a presence in a number of other African countries.
Uys’s challenge will be to retain the company’s position and look for new growth opportunities.
Their personalities reflect this difference; Knott-Craig is a visionary, opinionated leader, Uys is more consultative in his approach.
Both, however, are ruled by the belief that their jobs require them to make decisions, quickly.
Uys takes over at Vodacom at a time when there is some concern over its ability to grow.
People have, however, been predicting the imminent peak in the cellphone industry since its launch in 1994.
Even this week some did so again, saying Vodacom’s quarterly results pointed to its pressing need to expand geographically as there was little room for subscriber growth in its current areas of operation.
Uys has been involved in the industry’s rapid and continued growth through all the naysaying — and he remains confident about its potential.
In its quarterly update to the end of June, Vodacom reported a 1.7% increase in subscribers, with only a marginal increase in SA subscribers and a 5.4% increase in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho and Mozambique. In SA, its market share dropped slightly to 54%.
These results prompted questions about the future. Uys said the results should be seen against the short-term slowdown in the world economy. But, he added, “In SA, I think there is definitely another 18 to 24 months of good growth.”
New connections remain buoyant.
“It is true that we are connecting lower ARPU (average revenue per user) customers but, importantly, we are maintaining ARPU margins,” he said.
Uys added that only about 70% of people in SA have cellphones. He points out that there are many people not included in the census — people coming from Africa — who are potential subscribers.
And while simcard penetration is reaching 100%, this also reflects people using multiple devices.
Coming back from London this week, Uys said he noticed six people who were using two phones each. Potential growth from simcards is huge.
Apart from foreign expansion, Uys will focus on plans to ensure the SA business remains competitive. At the core of this is Vodacom Business.
Uys said Vodacom is doing things “we could never have imagined a few years ago”, including its information technology data centre and fibre optic networks, which are now carrying live traffic.
“Previously, we were looking at pure mobile opportunities, but with convergence, including Wimax and broadband, we have definitely opened up our look at the continent. We are not just pure mobile, but a total telecoms company.”
Uys will also be there for the anticipated change in shareholding. British company Vodafone has offered to take an additional 12.5% of Vodacom. At present Vodafone jointly owns it with Telkom.
Uys said that “in the medium to long term, we do need the shareholding unlocked”. He added that it is better to have one owner who can set the strategic direction.
The current shareholding agreement prevents Vodacom from expanding to certain areas, and it is widely expected that it will be given more freedom when the shareholding structure changes.
But Vodacom’s executive team is not playing a wait-and-see game, despite the activity at shareholder level.
It is, and will remain under Uys, a decisive organisation.
Uys said he and Knott-Craig have different management styles. “I like to sit down with employees, listen, find out what is bothering them, I am more consultative.
“With good input you make good decisions,” he said. But, the buck stops with him and he will, as Knott-Craig does, make decisions quickly. If someone enters his office requiring a decision, it will be made before they leave.
Knott-Craig and Uys have worked together at Vodacom since the start, and he is the chief operating officer. “We work closely together. He has been handing more and more to me over the last year or so,” Uys said.
He has been involved in the business strategy; all the managing directors report to him, and he has been responsible for day-to-day running of the company.
The company culture will not change under Uys.
“It is a good culture. We will still do a deal on a handshake,” he said.
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