JSE-listed technology group Altech has appointed Willie Oosthuysen as its new chief technology officer. Oosthuysen was previously a regional director for systems engineering at Cisco.

Oosthuysen, who has replaced Ashraff Paruk — Paruk left Altech last year — will report directly to Altech CEO Craig Venter. He spent the past five years on international assignments, working in Paris, France. Before joining Cisco, he spent eight years working for Sasol in various technical and management roles.

At Altech, Oosthuysen will have “overall responsibility for the long-range direction of technological planning, development and delivery within the group and will define Altech’s technology vision and direction in order to improve its competitive performance”, the group says in a statement.

Oosthuysen has a BSc in computer science and applied mathematics, a BSc (hons) in data communications, and an MSc and PhD in computer science from the University of the Free State. He also has an MBA from the MIT Business School in the US.

His appointment comes hot on the heels of Altech’s appointment of former Telkom acting group CEO Jeffrey Hedberg as its chief operating officer. — Staff reporter, TechCentral