Rob Shuter’s dream job had four requirements. First, he wanted to be involved in a business that revolves around customers. Second, it needed to operate in a challenging and competitive environment. Next, he wanted to be part of a business with a culture that he could relate to, “a company with heart”. And lastly, in a perfect world, it would be nice if that company was in an industry that ignited his passion.

Meet the Vodacom Group’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the man who landed his dream job. The former Managing Director of Nedbank Retail, who comfortably calls himself a bit of a techno junkie, has already test-driven nine cellphones this year, thanks to his bank client, Nashua Mobile. “From the first time I made a call on a Nokia brick in a traffic jam in Durban in 1994, I have been fascinated by this industry,” says Rob, a classic early adopter – people who are always at the top of the technology curve – while demonstrating his favourite new gadget, a Bluetooth fold-up keyboard for his BlackBerry® Curve™.

Part of the turn-around team of Nedbank Retail, Rob, a chartered accountant, managed a 16 000-strong team and a business with annual turnover of more than R10 billion.  Last year he won the Leader of the Year Award in the Leadership Excellence awards. He strives to be a “level five” leader, described by Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great as a paradoxical blend of strong determination and personal humility. “But I’m a work in progress,” says 42-year-old Rob, whose role model is a typical level-five leader in the person of Michael Katz, head of the law firm Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs. “Michael is such a fiercely determined, committed and energised leader, but at the same time he is extraordinarily humble, always passing on credit to others.”

As CFO of the Vodacom Group, Rob would like to focus on supporting the company’s strategy and decisions with sound financial planning and systems, rather than run a mechanical financial function. His large portfolio includes investor relations, business development (strategic planning and acquisitions), the secretarial function of a listed company and internal audit. “Now that Vodacom is a listed company, we need to ensure we are resourced up to manage a more complex set of stakeholders.”

But Rob believes the biggest gift a CFO can give a company is to understand its business deeply and thoroughly.

This brings us back to his dream job checklist. “To get to grips with the challenges and operational environment of the communications industry, is like being set free in a field where I have always wanted to play. Many CFOs see themselves as halfway between referees and spectators, but my style is to be a player out on the pitch, sweating and putting in the effort with everyone else.”

Sweating is not something Rob is afraid of. He is a veteran of five Iron Man races, ten Dusi canoe marathons, the Comrades marathon and six Two Oceans marathons. Most morn-ings at 05:30 he is out of the blocks, pulling on his running shoes. Apart from keeping fit, pounding the road at dawn gives him the quiet time to clear his head and process things.

While Rob is out on the road pondering how best to meet Vodacom’s challenges, he will be drawing on his experience in banking and finance. “Banking and cellphones are not as far apart as you may think at first. Both businesses are very people-focussed and customer-centred. Like banks, cellular networks are also two-sided businesses that share facilities with competitors, such as ATMs or network roaming, which requires complex structures. And, of course, banks and cellphone networks are increasingly working together to offer their clients innovative mobile banking services.”

Rob is particularly excited about being a CFO of a Vodafone subsidiary and part of a global operation that operates in over 30 countries. “At a recent Vodafone CFO conference in the UK, CFOs from every country shared their 20 best-practice elements. It is incredibly valuable to have the pooled expertise of such leading global operators on tap.”

He felt particularly proud to represent Vodacom. “We are one of Vodafone’s most successful operating companies. Vodacom is known as a company with a winning culture that is fast to market and gets things done, part of the culture that attracted me.”

But getting things done is not Rob’s only purpose in life. “I love spending time with my family. When you’re building sandcastles on the beach, you get a different view of the world.” He and his wife Michaela, also an accountant, have three children, Michael (11), Caroline (9) and Daniel (2).