Limpopo Business 2016-17 edition
The 2016/17 edition of Limpopo Business is the eighth issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2007, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Limpopo province. Limpopo is unique in terms of its abundant natural and human resources, and is also one of the key drivers behind the South African economy. This edition of Limpopo Business is officially endorsed by the Office of the Premier of Limpopo.
The 2016/17 edition of Limpopo Business is the eighth issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2007, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to the Limpopo province.
Limpopo is unique in terms of its abundant natural and human resources, and is also one of the key drivers behind the South African economy.
This edition of Limpopo Business is officially endorsed by the Office of the Premier of Limpopo.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
INTERVIEW<br />
Chris Lazarus: driving<br />
Vodacom <strong>Limpopo</strong><br />
Chris Lazarus is Vodacom’s dynamic and driven Managing<br />
Executive for the <strong>Limpopo</strong> region (home to 3.9-million<br />
customers) who is pushing the frontiers of the online<br />
revolution in <strong>Limpopo</strong>.<br />
Chris Lazarus, Managing<br />
Executive: <strong>Limpopo</strong><br />
BIOGRAPHY<br />
Before joining Vodacom, Chris<br />
Lazarus was Head of Content<br />
Solutions for I-Net Bridge until<br />
2005, when he joined Vodacom<br />
as Executive Head Data Sales.<br />
In 2009 he established the<br />
Public Sector division and then<br />
moved to Enterprise Products/<br />
Services. In 2011 he became<br />
Managing Executive Product/<br />
Services, managing the enterprise<br />
business product suite. In<br />
2013 he started the Emerging<br />
Markets division and in 2014 he<br />
became Managing Executive<br />
Gauteng Region and successfully<br />
turned around the regional<br />
channel engagement plans<br />
and increased growth in data<br />
revenue, 3G devices and LTE.<br />
He holds an MBA from Henley<br />
Management College, UK.<br />
Vodacom is investing hundreds of millions of rands into<br />
its network to get as many people as possible connected<br />
around the province. Where do you see the greatest changes<br />
and benefits for <strong>Limpopo</strong>?<br />
The investment is about rolling out<br />
more sites to ensure we provide<br />
more base station coverage to<br />
areas where we have gaps but<br />
also investing to ensure that our<br />
customers have a better voice<br />
and data experience. There is<br />
also investment in the underlying<br />
transmission to ensure we have<br />
sufficient capacity to cater for<br />
current and future growth.<br />
<strong>Limpopo</strong> is the first Vodacom<br />
region to deploy overhanging<br />
fibre using concrete poles. As more<br />
customers obtain smartphones<br />
and other smart devices, this<br />
investment will ensure a richer<br />
user experience.<br />
What motivated your move from Managing Executive for<br />
Gauteng to Managing Executive for <strong>Limpopo</strong>?<br />
The opportunity for me was to manage a region end-to-end, covering<br />
all aspects of our business. The exciting part that I am thoroughly<br />
enjoying is the network side, learning lots about our technologies and<br />
seeing the benefit to our customers. <strong>Limpopo</strong> has so many untouched<br />
business opportunities.<br />
You will find in <strong>Limpopo</strong> we do a couple of things a bit faster and<br />
some things we do uniquely. For example, our fibre using concrete<br />
poles along the side of the road. Now it’s cheaper to do, and faster. We<br />
LIMPOPO BUSINESS <strong>2016</strong>/<strong>17</strong><br />
70
Change language