Joan Joffe, Vodacom`s spokesperson and group executive for corporate affairs, will retire at the end of the year, officially bringing to an end a nine-year association with the organisation.
Joffe, who will remain closely associated to the company - she will continue working as a consultant to Vodacom - has been with the group since its inception, initially serving as its general manager for marketing.
"I was supposed to retire five years ago but Vodacom made special arrangements so that I could stay on a further five years," she says.
"I am definitely not resigning and although I am leaving, there is only goodwill from both my side and the company`s side."
Mthobi Tyamzashe, chairman of the group`s social responsibility arm, the Vodacom Foundation, will take over the role of group executive for corporate affairs, although she says it is still being discussed whether he will also remain as foundation chairman.
Having spent much of her career in the IT and telecommunications industry, Joffe is remembered as the first person to import the IBM PC into SA back in 1977, when she still operated her own business, Joffe & Associates.
"I have had a lot of success in the industry and hope to use my experience in my new role as a consultant to Vodacom, where I will be working on a number of projects. However, I do also have a number of other business opportunities to consider," she says.
"Don`t worry, the industry hasn`t heard the last of me yet - in fact, not for a long time to come, I sincerely hope."
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