ACTOM has appointed a new Group Business Development Executive charged with the responsibility of sourcing new business opportunities for the group as a whole.
She is Mamiki Matlawa, who was appointed to the position with effect from March 1 this year.
Since qualifying with a B.Tech degree in engineering from the University of Johannesburg in 2003, Mamiki has worked in various industries in technical and supervisory positions, as well as at Eskom as part of the production teams for three power stations and for the Industrial Development Corporation as a project manager on a number of IDC-funded projects.
In announcing this important corporate appointment, Mervyn Naidoo, ACTOM’s Group CEO, emphasised that the position is uniquely demanding and multifaceted as its aim is to encompass all aspects of what the group does, the great variety of products and services it provides, while at the same time requiring the incumbent to have a clear understanding of all the technologies involved and the numerous applications they may be applied to.
“In addition, the holder of this position needs to become familiar with all the existing and potential markets for the group’s offerings and to keep in touch with these markets to ensure that all opportunities for ACTOM’s participation in new projects are taken up in good time as they arise,” he said.
He underlined the fact that the group’s divisions and business units have always – and continue to – operate on a decentralised basis. “This approach has been adhered to all along because of its distinct advantage of ensuring that the necessary and appropriate focus and technical expertise are applied to the requirements of the specific markets and customers concerned in each case. It however results in a tendency for divisions and business units to focus solely on their own range of offerings suited to a customer’s project to the exclusion of the possibility that other divisions within the group may also have something worthwhile to contribute to the project in hand,” he explained.
“This is where Mamiki comes into the picture, her job being to ensure that all opportunities for group participation in any given project are capitalised on to the full, so that no chance for a division to participate in a project is missed. In such instances the multiple offerings by the group are quoted for and provided as a co-ordinated package, with the customer also standing to benefit through cost savings from the integrated group offering.
“We are finding a greater need in the market for turnkey offerings on infrastructure projects which go across multiple divisions,” Mervyn stated.
This co-ordinated approach has been successfully applied in recent years, but has tended to be done on a piece-meal basis. “What we are now aiming to achieve with Mamiki’s help is to have it applied across the board throughout the group and on every major project without exception,” he said.
But while this goal is the main objective that the group has in mind in appointing Mamiki as Group Business Development Executive, it also wants to see it resulting in substantial development of more business for the group throughout Africa.
“Though some of our divisions have been successful in developing good and fruitful relationships with customers in various part of Africa, a lot of potential exists to develop a great deal more business on the continent, particularly on the basis of the ‘integrated solutions’ model I’ve outlined,” Mervyn commented.
“Mamiki with her wide range of experience in various fields of business, especially in infrastructural projects, including energy-related projects of various kinds, is well-positioned to make important inroads in this respect. We hope this will lead to ACTOM gaining entry into some new markets, resulting eventually in worthwhile new business opportunities, as well as extending our footprint on the continent,” he concluded.
