JSE-listed technology group Altron has appointed Mark Harris, a former MD of IBM South Africa, as the new permanent MD of its Altron Nexus subsidiary following a tumultuous period for the business.

Harris will report into Andrew Holden, Altron’s group chief operations officer.

“Mark has been acting as Altron Nexus MD for almost six months and we are seeing some gains brought about by his leadership, particularly with regards to how we connect with our customers,” said Holden in a statement.

Harris previously led Kagiso Media’s digital transformation strategy and implementation of shared services, which helped improve the company’s profitability. He also held various leadership roles at IBM.

In September 2019, Altron suspended three executives at the Nexus subsidiary following an investigation that revealed “potential internal irregularities”. It did not name those suspended.

The precautionary suspensions come after Altron received information from a whistle-blower in June 2018. This led to Altron appointing independent investigators to look into alleged procurement irregularities “among a few senior executives within Altron Nexus”, it said at the time.

Tip-offs

“The investigation found no evidence of irregularities but made recommendations on procurement process improvements and reporting obligations, which were implemented,” the company said.

In June 2019, Altron received a second tip-off from a whistle-blower on similar allegations. The company immediately initiated another investigation conducted by forensic services company Naledi Advisory Services.

The preliminary findings revealed potential deviation from procurement processes, involving an estimated R23-million, and early profit recognition of approximately R20-million in the 2018 financial year. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media