Big shoes to fill at Cell C

Johannesburg, 09 May 2014

Angola-born Jose Dos Santos has over 20 years of experience under his belt.

Jose Dos Santos has officially replaced Alan Knott-Craig - the telecoms veteran who had become synonymous with Cell C - as the third operator's CEO. Apart from the two executives sharing a past in Vodacom, what equips the incoming CEO to fill Knott-Craig's shoes?

A vast knowledge of the mobile cellular business and experience in tactical - as well as strategic - elements of the business, says Ovum analyst Richard Hurst.

While the industry can expect Dos Santos to bring his own strategic vision to the company, Hurst says it can also expect that the direction set by Knott-Craig will be maintained, with the strong focus on price competitiveness top of the agenda.

World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says Dos Santos knows Cell C's business inside-out. "Jose is an operational person who will ensure the smooth running of the business, while Alan's new role may well allow him to push innovative ideas into the organisation."

Goldstuck says while there is no question Cell C does not have the same spark it had under Knott-Craig, since he left the podium in November, no other mobile operator has that spark, and the company cannot replace Knott-Craig with someone like him.

Five-month trial

He was brought on board by Knott-Craig around mid-2012, about a month after the former took the helm at Cell C, and has been acting in the position of CEO for five months, since Knott-Craig suffered a stroke in November.

The direction set by Alan Knott-Craig is likely to be maintained, with price competitiveness top of the agenda.

Dos Santos, who shares a name with the Angolan president, and was born in the West African country, was previously Cell C's chief commercial officer - a position he held for about two years.

Dos Santos, who turns 50 in July, has been at the rudder for a number of happenings since November. Most recently, Cell C introduced four new "Supacharge" vouchers to its existing range of prepaid offerings.

He was also in prime position during one of the country's biggest telecoms tussles in recent history - the mobile termination rate row - which is expected to be settled in October. Like Knott-Craig, Dos Santos expressed strong views around the monopoly held by Vodacom and MTN since the inception of the industry, and feels that lowering the cost to communicate in SA should now be top priority.

Jose Dos Santos' professional career:

1. Dos Santos has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications and related industries.
2. Prior to joining Cell C, Dos Santos was CEO of Vodacom Mozambique (2005 to 2012).
3. He also formed part of the initial team that started Cell C - the only competitor at the time to Vodacom and MTN - in 2001.
4. Between 2001 and 2003, Dos Santos held the role of MD at Cell C.
5. Dos Santos was Autopage Cellular's MD between 1999 and 2001.
6. He has also held positions at Message Link and Alcatel.
7. Dos Santos is a member of the South African Institute of Directors and the South African Institute of Marketing Management.

Dos Santos also kicked off Cell C's 2014 campaign in February, with the launch of two new products as part of what it says is an aggressive drive to get consumers to change to its network in 2014.

He also oversaw the cancellation of the flat out of bundle data rate - a bid designed to get customers to purchase more bundles.

At the beginning of his five-month acting role, Mirage Telecom, Comverse and Cell C signed an agreement to create a mobile virtual network enabler that sees Mirage Telecom use Comverse software and Cell C's network to create a platform for new mobile virtual network operators to enter the market.

In a scenario unusual for the "consumer champion", Cell C has yet to participate in the latest price war instigated by MTN in April.