“This is not an April fool’s joke. This is for real.” With those words, Vodacom Group CEO Pieter Uys took the wraps off Vodacom’s new red and white branding on Friday evening, bringing it in line with the corporate colours of its UK parent, Vodafone.
In announcing the group’s conversion from its traditional blue and green to Vodafone’s red, Uys said the new corporate image was underpinned by a restructuring at the organisation, which included a flattening of its management structure. Uys said he had moved out of his plush office at the group’s head office in Midrand and into an open-plan environment.
“Because we operated across different markets, we started duplicating many things,” he said. “We now have many services at the centre, so you’ll now find only one human resources team, one network group [and] one group looking after legal.”
Uys said no decision had yet been made about who would replace Vodacom SA MD Shameel Joosub, who began his duties as the CEO of Vodafone in Spain on Friday.
He said Vuyani Jarana, Vodacom SA’s chief operating officer, would assume Joosub’s responsibilities as MD until a permanent replacement could be found. “Hopefully, we will make an announcement soon.”
Uys said the restructuring was aimed at ensuring Vodacom, which was licensed more than 17 years ago, became “a young company again”. This would entail a focus on customer service and improving its network — Uys emphasised the aggressive roll-out by Vodacom SA of third-generation mobile base stations. “It’s purely to become a simpler and faster organisation.”
Uys unveils Vodacom’s new brand identity (via TechCentral’s YouTube channel):
The overhaul has come as Vodacom is arguably facing the most intense competition since it was founded in 1993. Rival MTN has invested billions in an advanced new network; Cell C is aggressively entering the wireless broadband market; and Telkom recently launched SA’s fourth mobile network operator, 8ta. — Staff reporter, TechCentral
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