Telecoms industry veteran and former Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig yesterday handed out the first copies of his newly-published book, “Second is Nothing”.
The ghost-written autobiography was presented last night to the who's who of industry at Hyde Park Exclusive Books.
The book tells the story of Knott-Craig, moving from his childhood challenges, to his journey to bring cellular telephony to Africa. The title was taken from his father's words: “First is first and second is nothing.”
Speaking at the event last night, Knott-Craig said he tried to handle the content of the book with tact. “I am careful not to compromise people and companies, but that which is true, I say,” he said.
The first chapter of the book deals with Knott-Craig's second heart attack and the impact it had on his life and business. It also reveals that the “father of mobile in SA” did not have his all in the job since 2006 and had been discussing an exit with shareholders since then.
The autobiography promises to reveal interesting titbits about the development of Vodacom and indeed the telecommunications industry as a whole.
He said Vodacom had expected the regulator to cut rates far sooner than this year. “I budgeted for a decrease in interconnect rates each year in the last years of my tenure. The regulator surprised me each time he did not cut them.”
Knott-Craig's biography was ghost-written by Eunice Afonso and published by Macmillan. It is available from Exclusive Books at R185.
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