Vodacom has lost one of its top executives to Kenya’s Safaricom. The JSE-listed cellular group announced after the markets closed on Thursday evening that its chief officer for corporate affairs, Bob Collymore, was leaving to take the reins at Safaricom as CEO.
Collymore, previously a Vodafone executive, will join Safaricom in September. Both Vodacom and Safaricom have significant shareholding from the UK’s Vodafone. Like Vodacom in SA, Safaricom is Kenya’s largest mobile operator.
Portia Maurice, currently Vodacom’s chief officer for public affairs and sustainability, has been appointed as acting chief officer for corporate affairs until a permanent replacement for Collymore is found.
Prior to joining Vodacom in February 2009, Collymore held a number of executive positions within Vodafone, including that of purchasing director at Vodafone UK, global handset purchasing director across 26 countries, and consumer marketing director for Asia.
Vodacom also announced on Thursday that Willem Swart, the group’s chief officer for international business, had tendered his resignation. The group reported first quarter financial results on Thursday that reflected a disappointing performance in Vodacom’s operations outside SA. — Staff reporter, TechCentral
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