Former Dimension Data Group CEO Brett Dawson will join the board of Altron as a nonexecutive director effective from 1 June 2017, the JSE-listed technology group said on Tuesday.
His appointment comes amid a sweeping shake-up in management at Altron, led by newly appointed CEO Mteto Nyati, who joined the group from MTN in April, replacing Robbie Venter.
Dawson brings “considerable experience and a superb track record to support and strengthen the Altron team”, Altron said.
“During his tenure as CEO of Dimension Data, Dawson drove market-leading growth, expanded its geographic footprint from 29 countries to in excess of 50 and grew revenues from around US$2bn to around $8bn,” it said.
“Dawson built a strong culture and drove Dimension Data’s transformation into a services-led organisation. Dawson’s wealth of experience in the ICT industry will assist the Altron board as it charts its strategy for the next phase of the transition of the group.”
Last month, Nyati named a new executive committee and scrapped “redundant” positions to create a leaner group structure aligned to Altron’s ambitions in the ICT market.
“Our priorities as a group are to aggressively drive cost efficiencies; recruit, develop and retain top talent; build a trusted ICT brand; and accelerate growth,” said Nyati in a statement at the time. “The new structure reflects these priorities while setting the tone across the group on a cost focus.”
Following the implementation of the new structure, the Altron exco consists of Nyati (CEO), Alex Smith (chief financial officer), Andrew Holden (chief operating officer), Johan Klein (group executive for human capital); Neil Kayton (operations executive for Altron Power) and Harry Louw (Altech Netstar MD). Group executives for shared services and marketing, also now exco roles, would be filled later.
Earlier this month, Nyati said Altron will pursue acquisitions to bolster its capability in four areas he and his management team have identified as key to the technology group’s future growth. These are safety & security, healthcare management, financial services and skills development.
He said Altron has strong intellectual property in all of these areas, and where there were gaps in the portfolio, the group would consider strategic acquisitions. These would also be the areas where Altron directs the bulk of its future research and development spend, he added.
Altron was trading at R11,15/share at 11.21am on Tuesday. The share has added 90% in the past 12 months on the expectation of a turnaround in the group’s fortunes. Over 10 years, the group has lost 75% of its value. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media
