Speculation is growing that former Vodacom Group CEO Alan Knott-Craig will be appointed as Cell C’s new CEO, replacing Lars Reichelt, who resigned last year.
TechCentral understands from sources close to Cell C that an announcement about his appointment to the top job at the company could come as early as this week.
Talk in the industry is that Knott-Craig, who is known to be keen to stage a return to SA’s telecommunications industry, is about to make an announcement about his future plans — this after Murray & Roberts said on Tuesday that he had resigned as a nonexecutive director of the construction group.
“Mr Knott-Craig has resigned due to other business commitments,” Murray & Roberts said in a statement on the JSE’s Sens news service.
Knott-Craig, who is credited with founding Vodacom and building it into SA’s largest mobile operator, is being coy about his plans ahead of a possible announcement.
Approached by TechCentral on Wednesday, he said only that he plans to “re-enter the telecoms industry in SA” when his restraints of trade with Vodacom come to an end on 1 April.
“My health has improved substantially and I want to have at least one more shot at making a positive difference in the telecoms space in SA,” he said. “I don’t for one moment think it’s going to be a slam-dunk, but I do think it’s possible.”
In line with that, he said: “I will join a company where I have the most freedom to make a difference for the benefit of both shareholders and customers.” — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral
See also: Knott-Craig eyes return to SA telecoms (from April 2011)
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