One year after being appointed Cell C CEO, Jorge Mendes has set his sights on refreshing the telco’s brand, in order to compete effectively. Mendes revealed his plans in an exclusive interview with ITWeb TV, saying the brand refresh will start in the next few weeks. In the wide-ranging interview, he discusses how Cell C has progressed with its business stabilisation efforts, the proposed call termination rates, plans for major shareholder Blue Label to take control of Cell C, as well as its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business.
Mendes also provides some advice for new communications minister Solly Malatsi on what he must prioritise in order for the local telecommunications industry to thrive. One year into the job, Mendes comments: “It’s been an incredible journey filled with lots of fun, lots of obstacles, lots of challenges and wonderful opportunities. To be brutally honest, if I hold up a scorecard, I think we’ve done quite a lot over a fairly short period of time.
I am really confident that we are well-positioned to take the business forward. “Our main aims were to ensure we return to growth and profitability in a sustainable way, and we want to do that with customer-centricity – the customer is at the centre of all the decisions that we make. I’ve always been passionate about building an incredible culture and we have come a long way in doing so.
” When he was appointed in June last year, Mendes set out to overhaul the entire executive committee.