'I am noted for being the first'

Graphic Business (Business Life, Page 30) November 25/2008

Mr David Venn the new chief executive officer of Ghana Telecom is not afraid of challenges. He believes that his desire and enthusiasm to succeed at all cost will make him shine in the Ghanaian telecommunication market. The competition, no doubt, is stiff, but Mr Venn is equally unbending, and says his company will be the “first”. Charles Benoni Okine profiles Ghana Telecom and Mr Venn


When the Government of Ghana decided to cede 70 per cent of its shares in Ghana Telecom to Vodafone it was not greeted with the funfair it had hoped for. Some observers were highly critical of the government, believing strongly that the deal was not in the best interest of the country.
The deal eventually went through parliament successfully, and today, with pride, Ghana Telecom is part of a strong global brand. The little euphoria that the deal generated has now died down, and now what analysts and Ghanaians want to see is a telecoms company that is able to match the other serious brands in the country.
With hindsight, many who had opposed the deal previously now believe that it was the best thing to happen to the company. Why is that so? Ghana Telecom was struggling financially. Because the government was the sole shareholder, it was not been able to raise the huge investment needed to compete in the market.
Therefore, even though it was the premier telecoms company in the country, its uptake of the mobile telephone market was slow. The main stumbling block was the lack of cash, and therefore, foreign investors found a way into the market and capitalised on the huge investment opportunities available.
Even though it eventually took seriously to the mobile telephony market, it is still behind MTN the market leader in the mobile telephony sector and Millicom Ghana, operators of tiGO, in second position. New entrants such as Zain and Globacom are also about to launch themselves into the market after receiving their licences to operate in the country. The market is surely getting interesting.
Vodafone’s involvement with Ghana Telecom has also changed the dynamics in the market, as far as competition is concerned, and even though MTN has promised to maintain its lead, its staying power will be severely tested; all the other players now mean business.
Having become the biggest shareholder with a drive to dominate the Ghanaian market, Vodafone, was careful in the selection of a new Chief Executive for the new venture, according to the company. It is with this in mind that Mr David Venn was appointed to Ghana. At 47, Mr Venn sees himself as the man with the credentials to lead the new face Ghana Telecom in Ghana, taking over from Mr Dickson Oduro-Nyaning whose contract ended on November 10.
Mr Venn is a respected business leader with proven experience in driving growth and implementing innovative business strategies; important attributes needed to survive the fierce competition that pertains in the sector.
He has a rich experience in the telecoms market of Africa, having spent the last five years in Zambia where he gained good knowledge and special insights into the African telecommunications market.
Mr Venn’s career in the telecommunications industry spans over 30 years during which time he has transformed average companies into fast growing and dynamic organisations that have made significant returns to shareholders.
Mr. Venn has worked in a number of telecommunications enterprises in the USA, UK and other parts of Europe.
He has also held leadership positions in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia.
In an exclusive interview with Graphic Business, Mr Venn reaffirmed his commitment to the task ahead and noted: “I am noted for being the first wherever I find myself and that is why I accepted the offer to work in this company”.
He said he believes in innovation and was all out to ensure that Ghana Telecom regained its lost glory, which has affected its market penetration in the mobile telephony industry.
Even though there was some controversy surrounding the agreement, Mr Venn is not perturbed about the circumstances surrounding the sale except to say “it is business as usual and that is what I am here for”.
He believes that what happened was just an issue to do with politics and now the real business begins. Therefore, he has expressed his willingness to discharge his duties as per his mandate and not to meddle in politics of the country because, as he puts it, “that is not the reason I am here”.
Mr Venn is of the clear conviction that no matter which government is in power, its quest would be to see Ghana grow with many people in employment “and Vodafone is here to do exactly that for which reason the government of the day and in the future would be delighted to see.
He describes Ghana as a country with a conducive environment for businesses to grow and that Ghana Telecom would grow and flourish under his leadership.
Workers of the company were among the first group of people to believe in the government’s decision to sell its stake in the company, and it is something that surprises Mr Venn.
This is because quite often workers see agreements of this nature as a threat to their own future in the company.
According to him from his interaction with a few of the staff he could sense their eagerness to work to turn the fortunes of the company around.
Ghana Telecom, to him had been starved of fresh investments to enable it to make maximum use of the highly versatile, competent and experienced staff of the company. “My being here is to ensure that they are motivated to give off their best”, Mr Venn promised.
About competition, Mr Venn admitted that with giants such as MTN and Zain in the fray it was indeed not joke for any telecoms company to sit on the sidelines. Vodafone, he says, is in for the long haul.
Mr Venn says he has the passion to succeed and through dedication, innovation and experience and above all the injection of fresh capital into the company, the economic fortunes of the company should be transformed.
The Ghana Telecom CEO is of the view that what had made Ghana Telecom what it is was purely as a result of lack of cash and Vodafone is in to inject the right amounts of capital to enable the company to surmount the challenges in the fiercely contested telecoms market.
“Vodafone’s investment is to get the company well equipped technically with the state of the art telecommunication equipment that will completely transform its service to world class standards”, he said.
He said Vodafone is a serious company which does not toy with its businesses and indicated that “we are here to turn things around and our competitors and the customers will shortly see what we are here to accomplish”.
There have been speculations about the fact that Vodafone was not strong when it comes to fixed line operations and was therefore going to phase out that aspect of Ghana Telecom’s business. Mr Venn completely disagrees. “There is the fixed line and the broadband before the mobile and I can tell you that the investment into the business will cover all not only mobile”, he said.
He said the company was strong in all those areas and will not leave anything to chance as it strives to dominate the market in all its business areas.
Mr Venn has pledged his commitment to succeed just as he had done in Zambia and expressed the hope that the employees of the company will come on board to make that dream of making Ghana Telecom the number one in the industry a reality.
But in spite of his tramp card for enthusiasm and passion for success, Mr Venn will be faced with the challenge of overturning the tables in the mobile telephony sector which is dominated by MTN with more than 50 per cent share of the market presently.
The market, analysts believe, has an untapped potential of about 35 per cent with each of the existing players and the new entrants grappling to capture a chunk of it. That does not trouble Mr Venn the least, believing strongly that it is something he can effectively handle. But the biggest threat to his ambition will be how much Vodafone will commit to the Ghana operations now that the Group has announced a profit shortfall of GB£1 billion in its global operations. The Group CEO has announced cut backs in spending to accommodate the shortfall, and if this should affect Ghana, then Vodafone will really have a huge problem to deal with- and will not be able to compete in the market.