 |
Alan Knott-Craig (born 8 May 1952, Oudtshoorn, South Africa) is a retired South African former CEO of Vodacom (1996 - 2008) and Cell C (2012 - 2014).
|
Alan Knott-Craig (born 8 May 1952, Oudtshoorn, South Africa) is a retired South African former CEO of Vodacom (1996 - 2008) and Cell C (2012 - 2014).
Knott-Craig was born on 8 May 1952, Oudtshoorn, South Africa, where he spent his formative years. In 1974 he graduated in a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cape Town. His son, Alan Knott-Craig, was born in 1977.
Prior to 1993 he was Senior General Manager of Mobile Communications at Telkom SA, before he moved to Vodacom. In 1996 he was appointed CEO of Vodacom. He held that position until he stepped down in 2008. He also served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Murray & Roberts Holdings. He was appointed to the Murray & Roberts Board in 2008. He served as chairman of the health, safety and environment committee until 2011. [1] In 2012 he joined Cell C as its CEO until he stepped down in 2014 due to ill health. [2]
In 2008, former employee Nkosana Makate took Vodacom to court, claiming that the profitable Please Call Me message service was originally his invention and demanding compensation. Eight years later, Makate eventually won his case in the Constitutional Court (the highest court in South Africa). Makate will now enter negotiations with Vodacom for a 15% cut of the R70 billion he claims 'Please Call Me' has earned for Vodacom since its inception.
A 2014 judgement in the South Gauteng High Court supported Makate's claim to having originated Please Call Me. The court heard that, in November 2000, Makate had shared his idea (initially termed the "buzz" idea) with Philip Geissler, then board member and director of product development and management at Vodacom. Geissler had agreed to give Makate a cut should the Please Call Me innovation prove a success. Makate's witnesses presented emails sent by Geissler and an article in Vodacom's "Talk Time" internal newsletter which acknowledged and praised Makate for his idea and his contribution to the product. [3]
The court also rejected former CEO Allan Knott-Craig's lie that he had come up with the idea. Knott-Craig had published the lie in his autobiography, and later lied in court, claiming he had the idea while watching two security guards trying to communicate on phones without airtime. [4] Yet the High Court found against Makate's claim for compensation, holding Vodacom's argument that Geissler had not had the authority to promise Makate such compensation and that the debt would have expired (in legal terms, been prescribed) within three years. [5]
Makate took the case on appeal, and then took it to the Constitutional Court. In April 2016 Justice Chris Jafta found in Makate's favour and against Vodacom, overturning both judgements and finding that Geissler had had the authority to promise compensation, and that Makate's case was not based on an unpaid debt. In his judgement, Justice Chris Jafta had harsh words for Knott-Craig and Geissler. Among other things he said : “In not compensating the applicant [Makate]… Vodacom associated itself with the dishonourable conduct of its former CEO, Mr Knott-Craig and his colleague, Mr Geissler. This leaves a sour taste in the mouth. It is not the kind of conduct to be expected from an ethical corporate entity,” [6]
The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction.
Oudtshoorn, the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1870 and 1900–1914, truly established the settlement. With approximately 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest town in the Little Karoo region. The town's economy is primarily reliant on the ostrich farming and tourism industries. Oudtshoorn is home to the world's largest ostrich population, with a number of specialised ostrich breeding farms, such as the Safari Show Farm and the Highgate Ostrich Show Farm, as told by Mnr. Pierre D. Toit.
Vodacom Group Limited is a South African mobile communications company, providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 55 million customers. From its roots in South Africa, Vodacom has grown its operations to include networks in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and Lesotho, and provides business services to customers in over 32 African countries, including Nigeria, Zambia, Angola, Kenya, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Cameroon.
Alan E. Sears is an American lawyer. He served as the president, CEO, and general counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom until January 2017. Sears was also the staff executive director of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, popularly known as the Meese Commission.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the public interest.
Alan Roger Mulally is an American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive.
Yahya John Mandlakayise Hlophe is Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa.
Baaitse Elizabeth "Bess" Nkabinde is a former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Craig Paul Joubert is a South African professional rugby union referee and a Referee Talent Development Coach at World Rugby.
The National People's Party was a political party registered on a national level with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa. It came into existence when Badih Chaaban, a member of the Cape Town City Council crossed the floor from the Africa Muslim Party (AMP) in an attempt to wrest control of the city council from the Democratic Alliance-led multi-party coalition. The party was set up by Chaaban shortly before the floor crossing period in 2007 with the help of David Sasman, its interim leader. It should not be confused with the National People's Party, renamed the Minority Front, led by Amichand Rajbansi during the apartheid era.
Jacques Jacobus "Vleis" Engelbrecht is a South African professional rugby union player, currently playing in France with French Pro D2 side Montauban. He can play as a flanker or a number eight.
Christopher Nyaole Jafta is a retired judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Devil's Dust is a two-part Australian television docu-drama mini-series on the ABC which first screened in 2012. Based on journalist Matt Peacock's 2009 book Killer Company, Devil's Dust was researched and developed by producer Stephen Corvini for over two years prior to the series' production. Through the factual case of Bernie Banton, it recounts the tragedy of many Australian workers and their families afflicted with asbestosis and mesothelioma in the twentieth-century asbestos mining and processing industries. Though the extreme health risks of exposure to asbestos dust had been documented for many years, manufacturer James Hardie persisted in large-scale use of the material, aided by inadequate regulation by state health agencies.
AfriForum is a South African non-governmental organisation focused mainly on the interests of Afrikaners, a subgroup of the country's white population. AfriForum has been frequently described as a white nationalist, alt-right, and Afrikaner nationalist group, a description rejected by the organisation's leadership, who refer to themselves as a civil rights group.
Khaya Majola is a South African rugby union player who most recently played for the Southern Kings in the Pro14. His regular position is flanker.
Khwezi Jongamazizi Mona is a South African rugby union player for Griquas in the Currie Cup and in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is prop.
Alan Knott-Craig is a South African entrepreneur and author. He is the founder of Project Isizwe
Ruan Steenkamp is a South African rugby union player for the Bulls in Super Rugby, the Griquas in the Currie Cup and the Blue Bulls XV in the Rugby Challenge. His regular position is flanker or number eight.
Nkosana Makate, is a South African who proposed the "Please Call Me" concept to Vodacom. His idea consisted of sending a free message to other Vodacom users in order to request that they call you, even if you do not have enough credit available to do so. Nkosana Makate shared the concept with his employer, but never received payment for it. He laid a charge against Vodacom and won the case against them after an 8-year battle.
Mohamed Shameel Aziz Joosub is a South African businessman and head of Vodacom, a South African mobile communications company with over 55 million customers, since March 2013.