The UK-based Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has appointed Louise Theunissen, GM of Consulting Services at ContinuitySA, as its first board member from the African continent. The appointment follows the announcement at the end of last year that Theunissen had been appointed as the organisation's regional representative in South Africa.
The BCI was established in 1994 to enable individual members to obtain guidance and support from fellow business continuity practitioners. It also plays an important role in promoting standards and quality issues globally, with the view to improving and maintaining a high standard of work in the business continuity market. The BCI currently has over 4 000 members in 85 countries.
“The BCI Board consists of 11 elected members who determine the strategic direction and growth path of the organisation,” says Theunissen. “The board has primarily consisted of BCI members and fellows based in the United Kingdom to date, a state of affairs the organisation wanted to change to reflect its global demographics.”
Members of the BCI have an opportunity to apply for board membership each year, as long as there are vacancies to fill. This year saw four seats vacant and a record 20 people put their names forward. The institution's members voted the following people to the board:
* Steve Mellish, FBCI
* Kathleen Lucey, FBCI
* Louise Theunissen, MBCI
* Roberta LaRocca, MBCI
“The South African Forum of the BCI is well established and growing fast,” Theunissen adds. “This provides the BCI with a solid foundation as it expands into the rest of Africa. We envision setting up local forums in other African countries in the future to assist businesses in understanding and applying business continuity management best practices in their environments. Ultimately, we hope to set up the first African Forum made up of representatives from across the continent.”
The newly elected board members will officially take their post in January 2010.
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ContinuitySA
ContinuitySA is Africa's leading provider of business continuity consulting and related services. The company boasts some of the continents most highly skilled and qualified business continuity and disaster management experts who help companies, organisations and government departments of all sizes prepare for and deal with all eventualities. These include potential threats, events, incidences and unforeseen or sudden disruptions due to human error or natural events.
ContinuitySA operates the largest recovery facilities in southern Africa. It has a number of recovery centres in South Africa, with over 20 000 square metres of recovery facilities in Midrand, Gauteng. A smaller site of 3 000 square metres is located in Cape Town. The company has already established a 1 500 square metre site in Gaborone, Botswana, and is in the process of further expanding business into Africa through Mauritius and Mozambique and also in the Middle East.
ContinuitySA. Our business is keeping you in business.
Additional information about ContinuitySA can be found at http://www.continuitysa.co.za
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