From sales to senior leadership, closing a chapter after an impactful 27-year career at Vodacom - Carol Hall retires from regional leadership role at Vodacom

CAPE TOWN - After almost 30 years with Vodacom, Carol Hall is retiring from her role as Managing Executive for the Western Region. This marks the close of a remarkable chapter in the telecommunications industry that began in 1994 after a chance encounter at a fuel station sparked her interest in wireless technology.

"I was working in the credit card division at a major bank and while at the petrol station was helping to reprogramme those old card machines that used to plug into a Telkom jack when I heard about the introduction of card machines that used a wireless signal to connect. This intrigued me, so I did some research and found out about Vodacom and its former sales arm, Vodac. I successfully applied for a sales position at the company, which was the start of an amazing 27-year journey," she explains.

Reflecting on her career, Hall highlights several significant milestones. She was part of the first Vodacom Advanced Executive Programme (VAEP) in 2003. The programme is designed to reward talented employees by offering them the opportunity to improve their business and innovation skills for the benefit of Vodacom and their future careers. As a member of the award-winning team for the Janus Project, she travelled to Vodafone Italy in 2004 to engage with their CEO and senior leadership before presenting to the Vodacom South Africa board what needed to change. Her performance led to her being appointed as both the first woman and the first person without a technical background as a regional Managing Executive (ME), a role she first held in the Eastern Cape in 2005.

"I remember walking into a boardroom filled with regional MEs, all of whom were male at the time, and from a technical background. Shameel Joosub, present Vodacom Group CEO gave me such great advice. He said, ‘Your colleagues in the boardroom may know a lot about technology, but you as one person know a lot about sales and marketing, the commercial business.' We made a great regional team who shared openly and learnt greatly from each other."

This teamwork led to two CEO Region of the Year awards and the CEO Special Recognition Award.

"One of the most significant moments as ME of Vodacom Eastern Cape region was how Vodacom played an important part in Nelson Mandela's funeral in Qunu. Providing network connectivity was an exceedingly difficult execution due to the high level of security and protocol but at the same time an emotional one. The media was very reliant on our network during and after the event. I am so proud that we were able to honour this incredible leader and serve our country in doing so."

In 2019, Hall assumed the position of ME of the Western Region, overseeing the business unit. In the past five years, Vodacom has invested R2.5 billion to roll out the network in the region, driving 5G expansion and increased coverage, particularly in rural and township areas of the province. She and her team also have collaborated with local communities in times of need. In 2021, Vodacom donated R3 million towards relief efforts to help thousands of people affected by a runaway fire in Cape Town, and last year, pledged R500 000 to Gift of the Givers to support communities severely affected by storms and fires in the province. When the Karoo experienced severe weather and flooding in April last year, resulting in a 14-day power and network outage, Vodacom worked with Provincial Disaster management and Gift of the Givers to restore power and connectivity and provide humanitarian aid in the area.

"Supporting the communities we serve through connectivity is a huge part of our purpose. In 2022, when a fire broke out at the Parliamentary complex in Cape Town, we helped to transform the City Hall into a Parliament building within a few weeks. The City Hall is a heritage building, so we had to bring in fibre as well as network equipment without altering the structure. This was a massive challenge, but we were successful in being able to deliver connectivity to Parliament for SONA that year. We also won a Regional Team CEO award for this undertaking."

Looking back at how the telecommunications industry has changed over the past three decades, Hall notes how Vodacom is more than just a mobile network operator today. "In the early days of cellular, we used to have to follow the network rollout to sell our services. Now with coverage everywhere, we connect our customers and communities in ways that we never could have imagined."

Throughout her tenure at Vodacom, Hall has led with humility, respect, and purpose, believing in the power of treating people with care and leading by example.

As she steps into retirement, she looks forward to spending more time with her family, including her first soon-to-arrive grandchild, exploring South Africa, and continuing to make an impact through mentoring.

Hall describes her career as "an incredible journey" in which her passion for making a difference has left an indelible mark on the business and the people she served.