Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 15 | Page 10

NEWS New Managing Director at SAP Africa Innovation competition aimed at improving travel across Africa T he SITA Air Transport Community Foundation, in conjunction with Wits University and the Tshimologong Precinct, has launched an innovation competition to address the question, ‘what information, tools or technology will first-time air travellers in Africa need to make their journeys easy, successful and enjoyable?’ Cathy Smith, the new Managing Director of SAP Africa S AP Africa has appointed Cathy Smith as Managing Director. Smith has more than 25 years of leadership and technology experience and is the first female leader of the company. “Africa is on the cusp of exponential growth and development enabled by digital technologies,” said Steve Tzikakis, Regional President for EMEA South at SAP. “As one of the foremost experts in driving digital transformation on the continent, Cathy is imminently suited to leading our Africa operations. We have great confidence in her ability to realise our innovation vision across our customer base.” Smith joins SAP from Cisco, where she was Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, leading the development and execution of the company’s go-to-market sales and digital transformation strategies for the region. Prior to that, she spent 23 years at IBM in a variety of leadership roles. 10 INTELLIGENTCIO Smith says she is committed to developing the next generation of value- based African leaders, capable of guiding and leading their countries, as they balance the demands of globalisation with local visions of a sustainable society. “Augmenting a culture of leadership, high performance and accountability, both internally and externally, is the core of Cathy’s mandate,” added Tzikakis. “This appointment also reaffirms SAP’s commitment to empowering women in leadership and is in line with the company’s dedication to furthering South Africa’s employment equity and transformation agenda.” Smith takes over from Claas Kuehnemann, who took on the role of acting Managing Director for SAP Africa over the past eight months and who now assumes a new leadership position with SAP in Switzerland. Claas will remain closely allied with SAP Africa as he will continue to be a non-executive director on the SAP South Africa Board. The SITA Air Transport Community Foundation Innovation Award 2018 offers a prize of U$10,000 (about R110,000) and will reward the best response to the challenge. “Taking this growth into account and the increasing penetration of mobile and digital technologies, SITA wanted to offer up the challenge to the people most likely to make up this new generation of air travellers,” said Itumeleng Dhlamini, Partner Engagement Manager at the Tshimologong Precinct. The competition is open to Wits students and active members of the Tshimologong Precinct. Each team is made up of two to five members. A shortlist will be announced on May 2. Submissions can include a well-defined proof of concept, data modelling and recommendations based on data analysis, detailed research with recommendations for future activities and the use of technology to address the issue. Preliminary judging will take place in early July after which final presentations and judging will be concluded at an award ceremony on July 20. www.intelligentcio.com