“I won’t nick Vodacom staff”: Alan Knott-Craig
New Cell C CEO Alan Knott-Craig said that he will not actively try to poach Vodacom executives, but left the door open for them to follow him.
The Board of Cell C announced today (19 January 2012) that it has decided to appoint former Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig as the new Chief Executive Officer of Cell C.
Knott-Craig founded Vodacom and headed up the company since its humble beginnings in 1993. Over the following 15 years, Knott-Craig built up Vodacom to become one of South Africa’s most successful companies.
After a three-and-a-half year break, Knott-Craig said he is healthy and ready to make a difference in the local telecommunications market.
Cell C non-executive chairman and acting CEO, Simon Duffy, said that they looked both nationally and internationally for a replacement for Lars Reichelt, who left Cell C in mid-2011, and that Knott Craig was the best man for the job.
Knott-Craig’s experience and established relationships in the South African cellular arena certainly makes him an excellent choice to head up Cell C.
“I won’t steal Vodacom staff”
Knott-Craig’s long tenure at Vodacom means that he has in-depth knowledge of the most talented people at the operator.
This knowledge about Vodacom’s staff, coupled with the established friendships with many of the company’s top managers, raises the question whether Knott-Craig will poach Vodacom executives to join him at Cell C.
Over the last six months there have been numerous high-level departures at Cell C, including former CEO Reichelt; CIO Ron Reddick; marketing head Simon Camerer; and Sue Kennedy, Cell C’s executive head of sales and distribution.
These departures and the continuing restructuring at Cell C means that Knott-Craig will have some freedom in building a new management team under him.
Knott-Craig told MyBroadband BusinessTech that he will not approach any Vodacom staff to join him at Cell C. This, however, has left the door open for some of the Vodacom execs to join Cell C.
Knott-Craig said that he will not actively try to entice Vodacom executives to join him, but said it will be “nice” if he can get some of the senior Vodacom staff to work under him.
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