Dimension Data's CEO of its Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, Allan Cawood, will leave the company at the end of the month.
Cawood, who has been involved with Dimension Data since 1993 when he sold it a 35% stake in his company, Digital Networking Systems (DNS), will spend time in the private equity sector in a bid to help start-up entities.
Derek Wilcocks, MD of Internet Solutions, is moving into Cawood's position with immediate effect. Saki Missaikos, sales director for Dimension Data MEA since 2003, takes over as MD of Internet Solutions.
Steady hand
Cawood joined DiData in 1998. When Dimension Data purchased the balance of DNS shares and merged the company and Dimension Data Networking into a single business unit in 1999 - the forerunner to Dimension Data Network Services - Cawood was appointed as the unit's MD. In October 2001, he was appointed as CEO for Dimension Data SA.
During Cawood's tenure, which includes the 2002/3 IT downturn, revenue in the unit grew from $427 million to $1.2 billion, and operating profit from $66 million to $118 million.
Experienced leader
Dimension Data MEA chairman Andile Ngcaba says Wilcocks was the ideal candidate to replace Cawood. “Derek [Wilcocks] is highly regarded in the industry and brings with him an outstanding track record with Dimension Data into his new role.”
Wilcocks joined the group as founding MD of Internet Solutions subsidiary, Trusted Network Solutions, in 1995. He has been MD of Internet Solutions since October 2009. Before that, he held a number of executive positions during his 14 years with Dimension Data MEA, including running strategy and technology for Dimension Data.
Ngcaba says Missaikos has a long history with Internet Solutions, having originally joined the company in 1995. Missaikos held management positions in sales and business development, as well as starting up a number of new business units and developing products and solutions.
Missaikos moved from Internet Solutions to Dimension Data in 2003 to head up sales, and subsequently took on responsibility for sales across the various Dimension Data brands across MEA.
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