Altech announces appointment of Dr. Willie Oosthuysen as Group Chief Technology Officer

JSE-listed Allied Technologies Limited (Altech) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Willie Oosthuysen as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to the Altech Group.
A respected systems engineer with more than 20 years of technology experience, Oosthuysen was formerly the Director Systems Engineering of Cisco Emerging Central, which geographically covers the Middle East and Africa, and held various senior management roles within Cisco over the past 12 years. He spent the last five years on international assignments, working from Paris, France. Before joining Cisco, Oosthuysen spent eight years working for Sasol in various technical and management roles.
Oosthuysen will report directly to Altech Group CEO, Craig Venter and will have overall responsibility for the long-range direction of technological planning, development and delivery within the group and will define Altechs technology vision and direction in order to improve its competitive performance in the Telecommunications, Multi-media and Information Technology (TMT) sectors.
According to Venter, Oosthuysens skills and experience ideally match Altechs key technology objectives of encouraging technological innovation with a view to leveraging ownership of intellectual property and capitalising on the convergence structure of the Altech Group.
We are delighted to welcome Willie to Altech and we are confident that his extensive systems engineering experience, his alignment of technology to business strategy and his expertise in managing technology will prove invaluable as Altech solidifies its global leadership position in the TMT sector, said Venter.
Willie has successfully implemented far-reaching technological and business change in the companies he has worked for and he has the expertise to take emerging technology trends and translate them into real value for businesses, he added.
On behalf of our board, shareholders, management and staff we welcome Willie to the management team and wish him every success, concluded Venter.
Commenting on the appointment, Oosthuysen said, Altech is one of the leading ICT companies in South Africa and this is a great opportunity to become a part of its leadership team as the company extends its global reach and influence. Altech touches the lives of many people on a daily basis through technology innovation and it is great to be a part of that.
During his time at Cisco, Oosthuysen was awarded the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Systems Engineering Manager of the Year award in San Francisco (2005) and the Award of Emerging Markets Systems Engineering Director of the Year in Las Vegas (2006).
Oosthuysen holds a B.Sc. Computer Science and Applied Mathematics degree, B.Sc. Honors in Data Communications, an MSc Degree in Computer Science and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of the Free State, together with an MBA from the MIT Business School Faculty (USA).
-ENDS-
 
Notes to Editors:
About Allied Technologies Limited
Allied Technologies Limited (Altech) is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The company focuses on the Telecommunications, Multi-media and Information Technology (TMT) industries and employs more than 3 580 employees in South Africa and abroad.
As a leading South African multi-billion rand group, Altech is involved in the design, development and convergence of Telecommunications, Multi-media systems and IT solutions.
For further information please contact:
Craig Venter
Chief Executive Officer: Altech
Tel: +27 11 715 9004
Cell: +27 83 236 8000
E-mail: cventer@altech.co.zaand/or
Shenanda Janse van Rensburg
Group Executive: Marketing, PR & Communications – Altech Head Office
Tel: +27 11 715 9031
Mobile: +27 84 777 1977
Email: sjvrensburg@altech.co.za
www.altech.com
JSE code: ALT