Vodacom’s CEO retires, says Nigeria was his greatest challenge

Alan Knott-Craig, the CEO of Vodacom South Africa has retired and has handed over to Pieter Uys, Chief Operating Officer of the mobile company. He disengaged fully on September 30, expressing his feelings that the Nigerian telecom market was his greatest challenge while in office.

First Alan left into a Consultant’s position but finally into full retirement.

Alan, during his reign as Vodacom CEO, found it difficult but had to leave the Nigerian telecommunications market at a time when the ovation was loudest.

Vodacom under the management of Alan Knott-Craig had in 2004, signed a 5-year Management Service Agreement with Econet Wireless Nigeria (now Zain), a situation that compelled the then Econet’s Board to change its name from Econet Wireless Nigeria to Vee Networks, but trading under the Vodacom brand name as Vodacom Nigeria.

Although the deal was successfully entered into in Nigeria, Vodacom later rescinded its decision as a result of perceived irregularities in the agreement that had been earlier signed, a situation that made informed its decision to pull out of the agreement.

Before Vodacom finally pulled out of the deal, it had appointed Mr. Willem Swart who was the former Managing Director of Vodacom Congo, as the new Chief Executive Officer of Vodacom Nigeria.

The new Board approved the appointment of Willem and that of Mr. Boye Olusanya as Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Olusanya was Acting CEO of the company until the execution of the 5-year Management Service Agreement.

Following the unceremonious disengagement of Vodacom, the Board of Directors of Vee Networks Limited met in Lagos on Thursday, June 3, 2004, and approved Vmobile as the company’s new trading name.

The Directors also ratified the appointment of Mr. Willem Swart as the Chief Executive Officer of Vee Networks Limited. Mr. Swart resigned his appointment with Vodacom to pursue a new career in Vee Networks Limited (VNL.)

Alan Knott-Craig later regretted his withdrawal and made concerted efforts to come back to the Nigerian telecom market, but such efforts were over-taken by new developments in Vee Networks.

At his retirement last week in Johannesburg, Alan Knott-Craig, 56, confessed that, “One of the toughest things I faced at the company was having to exit Nigeria after our shareholders lost their appetite for investing in that country.”

Vodacom was part of the ‘EconetWireless-VNetworks(VMobile)-Celtel-Zain’ story and for the man who was CEO of Vodacom for 15 years, taking the company from cradle to being a continental leader, Alan Knott-Craig saw it all. Chances are that he will eventually mention ‘a few new things’ in his memoirs when he eventually puts one together.

He will be remembered as one of the earliest mobile managers, the architect of the mobile industry in South Africa and certainly one of the most professional CEO’s on the continent.

The Independent