JSE-listed technology services group Altron has appointed Dr Bongani Andy Mabaso, former CEO of the State IT Agency (SITA), as its chief technology officer.
Altron says a key aspect of Mabaso’s role will be executing the group’s transformative growth strategy, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, and expanding its platform ecosystem.
As CTO, Mabaso will also lead the group-wide technology function and the product design and innovation strategy, to bolster existing revenue streams and create new ones.
Altron further notes the strategic developments will enable it to deliver new and continually relevant technology solutions to the South African market and beyond.
Werner Kapp, Altron Group CEO, says: “Our mission is to be a trusted partner for our customers on their digital transformation journey. I’m delighted to have a leader of Andy’s calibre join our team to help us further accelerate our growth strategy. He is renowned for being a visionary business transformation leader and AI enthusiast.
“We’re on a very exciting growth journey as a company, and I really look forward to working with Andy and the rest of our leadership team on our strategy to become the leading platform and IT services business in our chosen markets.”
Mabaso left SITA in December, eight months after taking the top job of CEO. He joined the government procurement arm on 1 April 2023, and was on a fixed-term contract for five years.
At the time, SITA said it had accepted Mabaso’s request to be released early from his employment contract. It further stated its board appointed national regional consulting services executive Ntutule Tshenye as acting MD, until further notice.
Mabaso’s exit was seen as a blow for the state IT procurement arm, which has been plagued by numerous challenges, including leadership instability, over the course of its more than 20-year history.
With his arrival in April 2023, Mabaso became the first permanent MD since Dr Setumo Mohapi's exit in March 2019.
Prior to his role at SITA, Mabaso was chief information officer: digital and customer journeys at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
He also spent over a decade at Transnet Engineering, where he worked as senior engineer, principal engineer responsible for software design and executive research manager.
Mabaso has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Cape Town, a Master of Philosophy from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Pretoria.