Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
Rodney Davis, president of Cable and Wireless Jamaica. - WINSTON SILL/ FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
"WE HAVE got to forget that we were once a monopoly. We have to get out there and compete as a lean, efficient business."
At Wednesday's launch of Cable & Wireless Jamaica's bMobile Christmas extravaganza, at the Carlton Crescent corporate headquarters, president and Chief Executive Officer Rodney Davis outlined his surgical approach to telecommunications. Mr. Davis dissected the business and found four distinct business lines within the C&WJ entity.
Mr. Davis was hired in July to replace outgoing president, Jacqueline Holding.
Two months later, he presented his three-year strategic plan for the revamp of the telecommunications firm, which was seen as lagging behind its newer, more nimble competitors.
His expressed intention was to forget the past and focus squarely on directing a new telecommunications powerhouse.
C&WJ today is four different lines of business.
* Voice (the traditional fixed line core of the business)
* Business Solutions and Data (for corporate clients)
* Internet
* Mobile, the president told the Financial Gleaner.
"In the way we are organised, the first three business lines are run by Roger Richards, senior vice-president of Voice, Data & Internet, and the mobile line is run by David Reavley, senior vice-president of Mobile.
STAND-ALONE ENTITY
"We view each business as a stand-alone entity and from a strategic direction the decisions must be made from that perspective.
"So, essentially, each line of business must justify its budget and meet targets. However, each business line is supported by an array of services within C&WJ."
Mr. Davis says the result of the change is "a greater clarity by our staff about what their role in the bigger picture is."
Referring to the three-year strategic plan, Mr. Davis discusses the new product offerings.
"The high speed Internet access, the Voice over Internet and the Anyone bMobile rate plan are just a few of the ideas that we are bringing to the marketplace. Next, we will be rolling out a reinvigorated fixed line."
Looking forward, we asked Mr. Davis what the benchmarks would be for 2006.
"When I came here in July one of the first things I identified was that the culture needed to change. We had a monopoly mindset but we must lead through innovation and serving the needs of the customers.
"We must create a culture where results matter. We have begun with our Anyone Plan. It is simple and easy to understand. It demonstrates that it is as cheap to use bmobile as to use any other phone. This levels the playing field. And the response to this new plan has superseded our initial targets.
"Next, we intend to maintain our leadership in corporate arena. Our competitors have tried to make inroads in that area and we need to maintain market dominance.
"And we need to fix the area of customer service. In fact, we have hired a new vice-president of customer experience. So we will be spending a lot of time to focus on customer service."
Of course, we couldn't resist asking the president about the company's share price activity. Although the stock market overall is in a serious bearish mode, Mr. Davis is confident that shareholders will see value in C&WJ, based on the positive performance he expects from each business line.
"I expect dips in the share price of C&WJ because the nature of the business is long-term. But the market confidence will grow when our results improve."
