Vodacom appoints strategy officer

Johannesburg, 14 Mar 2005

Vodacom has named a new chief corporate strategy officer, reporting directly to CEO Alan Knott-Craig.

Nku Nyembezi-Heita will take on the role, and will be responsible for the formal strategy formulation for the shareholders and management of the Vodacom Group.

She will also be closely involved in the acquisition of new cellular licences and part of her job will be to ensure the new commercial viability and success of such licences.

According to the mobile operator, this role has become pivotal in the face of deregulation and convergence. Nyembezi-Heita has been mandated to ensure the adoption of appropriate strategies in order for the organisation to maintain its competitive-edge.

Nyembezi-Heita, who is a qualified engineer, is a former senior staffer with IBM and previously held the position of CEO for Alliance Capital Management - a boutique asset management company.

She holds an MSC electrical engineering degree from The California Institute of Technology and an MBA degree from The Open University of the UK.

This is the latest in a number of appointments announced by Vodacom, including those of Romeo Kumalo as managing executive for strategic business relationships and Peter Matlare as commercial executive director.