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.
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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