Cisco has appointed Cathy Smith as general manager for its business operations in SA.
Smith replaces Alpheus Mangale who left the networking solutions company late last year to join mobile operator MTN as chief enterprise officer.
Following the departure of Mangale, who had been with Cisco from July 2012, the company appointed Stefano Mattiello to act as GM on an interim basis.
Prior to joining Cisco, Smith had been with IBM for more than 23 years, where she held various leadership roles in IT service delivery, HR and sales.
She is also a fellow of the African Leadership Initiative (ALI), an organisation set up to develop the next generation of values-based African leaders who are capable of guiding and leading their countries as they struggle to align the demands of globalisation with local visions of "a good society".
This aligns strongly with Cisco's goals for Africa and Smith will bring her experience and key learnings from the work she does with ALI to share best practice with other Cisco leaders in Africa, the company notes.
Cisco believes as South African organisations embrace the next wave of technology transformation and become fully digitised, this presents a new opportunity for new revenue streams, better customer and citizen experiences, and new operating models to deliver value.
"I am looking forward to the exciting challenge of leading Cisco's business in South Africa given the important and integral role it has in Cisco's strategy for growth in Africa," Smith says.
"It is an interesting time for South Africa as it embraces the new digital era and develops an agile IT model. At Cisco, our customers are at the core of all our business activities and our dedicated approach to delivering innovative technology solutions, as well as thought leadership, that will help them thrive in the digital era. This is where I plan to focus my energies in the coming years."
According to Smith, the connection of people, process, data and things, known as the Internet of everything, and the increased value that occurs as 'everything' joins the network, could generate R152.58 billion in value for SA's public sector over the next decade, enabling the South African government to create value by saving money, improving employee productivity, generating new revenue and enhancing citizen benefits.
"As South Africa continues to chart the course for economic transformation, its future lies in the ability of private and public sector organisations to set a bold technological agenda and take the initiative on transformational projects that harness the power of Internet to bring about meaningful change," says David Meads, vice-president of Cisco, Africa.
"Cisco has a focused agenda to support South Africa embrace this change through technology and given Cathy's IT industry credentials, she is well placed to engage with government and organisations in the country to identify opportunities for development and growth," he concludes.
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