SAS South Africa appoints new Managing Director

SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, has appointed ICT stalwart Maphum Nxumalo as the new Managing Director of its South African office.

Nxumalo has formally assumed his role as managing director of SAS SA this January 2010, and will report directly to Riad Gydien, Vice-President Middle East and Africa.

“With more than 29 years of experience in the local ICT industry, Maphum needs no introduction to the local market,” states Gydien. “I believe that with his strong executive leadership background, local knowledge, technical and sales understanding he will be an asset to the local team. His appointment comes at a time when SAS South Africa is looking to aggressively promote business analytics to a market that is fast beginning to understand its business worth.”

Nxumalo joins SAS from a SAP background, where he spent six years in various roles, including: Head of SME Business and Alliances, Strategic Business Development, where he was responsible for driving transformation; Chief Operating Officer; and his most recent role where he was charged with managing Business Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Having studied information systems, computer science, operations research and mathematical statistics at UNISA, he has a strong technical understanding, and also holds a number of executive leadership training certificates from UNISA, Wits Business School and Insead in France, and has served on a number of public and private sector boards.

Prior to his tenure at SAP, Nxumalo held a number of roles at varying organisations, including a three-year stint at mining company ERGO, as well as 14 years at retail giant Massmart, where he headed Group IT Operations and Production Management.

Most notably, Nxumalo held positions at the then Infoplan/Denel Informatics as Contracts and CRM executive. After the company rebranded as Ariel Technologies, he managed Key Accounts, Marketing and Corporate Affairs and was at the forefront of the establishment of Arivia.kom, tasked with New Business Development, before joining UNISYS as director for the Public Sector and Telecoms business units.

“I am taking the reins at an organisation that has benefited from strong leadership, has a solid management structure, and is at the technical forefront of business analytics,” states Nxumalo. “This is an exciting opportunity for me as I can see the growth that SAS has experienced both locally and globally, and look forward to further unlocking this potential in the South African commercial and public sectors in 2010 and beyond.”