Board of Directors

Date of Birth:
4 July 1962

Qualifications:
BA (Econ) (UCLA); BA (Psychology) (UCLA); MBA (USC); MSc (Mgmt Science)(USC)

Titles:

• Chief Executive Officer of Altech
• Executive Director of Altron
• Director of Altech Netstar, Altech Autopage Cellular, Kenya Data Networks, Swift Global (Kenya) and various other subsidiaries of the Altech Group, both local and global
• Chairman of Altech’s Executive Committee, Altech Autopage Holdings, Arrow Altech Holdings, Altech Alcom Matomo, Altech UEC Multi-media and Altech Information Technologies, Altech NuPay and the Altech Academy
• Member of the Altron Executive Committee and Risk Management Committee, as well as Altech’s Business Risk Committee
• Member of the worldwide Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO)
• Board member of the Ministry of Science and Technology's Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)

Experience:
23 years in senior management positions in the Altech Group.

Joined the Altech board in 1993.

Date of Birth:
19 May 1950
     
Qualifications:
BA (Economics)

Titles:

• Independent Non-executive Chairman of Altech
• Independent Non-executive Director of Altech
• Executive Director of Breeze Power (Pty) Limited (Lesotho)
• Executive Director of Harrison & White Investments (Pty) Limited

Experience:
Extensive management experience at some of South Africa’s leading corporations, including Tiger Oats, JSE Securities Exchange, Standard Bank Investment Corporation, KPMG and Alliance Capital. Served on the boards of Airports Company SA, National Sorghum Breweries, Cadbury, African Merchant Bank, CNA-Gallo and Alliance Capital. He is a past president of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce & Industry and chaired the business committee of the United States – South Africa BI-National Commission.

Joined the Altech board in 1998.

Date of Birth:
19 January 1950 

Qualifications: 
BCom (Hons); MCom; PhD; CA (SA)  

Titles:      

• Chief Financial Officer of Altech
• Chairman of the Audit Committees of Altech NuPay, Arrow Altech Holdings and other local and global Group subsidiaries
• Chairman of the Risk Committee of Altech NuPay and other local and global Group subsidiaries
• Chairman of Altech Stream East Africa Remuneration Committee
• Director of Altech Netstar, Altech Autopage Cellular, Altech UEC, Arrow Altech Holdings, Kenya Data Networks and various other local and global Group subsidiaries
• Member of Altech's Business Risk, Executive Committees and Altech Academy Board
• Trustee of the Altron Pension Fund and the Altron Medical Aid Scheme and of the Altech Stream East Africa Pension Fund 

Experience: 
27 years in electronics, telecommunications and power electrical industries. Previously in the auditing profession and academic field.

Joined the Altech board in 1996.

Date of Birth:
19 May 1946

Qualifications:
MA (Oxon)

Titles:

• Executive Director of Altech: Corporate Finance
• Executive Director of Altron
• Member of the Altron Executive Committee

Experience:
40 years in merchant banking/corporate finance activities in South Africa and internationally. Re-joined the Altron group in 1997, having previously served as an executive director from 1983 - 1986.

Joined the Altech board in 2000.

Date of Birth:
10 November 1946
 

Qualifications:
CA (SA)

 
Titles:

• Independent Non-executive Director of Altech
• Non-executive Director of Consolidated Infrastructure Group Limited
• Chairman of Consolidated Infrastructure Group Limited's Audit Committee
• Member of the Audit Committee Forum
• Member of CAMAF's Audit Committee
• Member of the Consultative Advisory Group of the Pulic Accountants and Auditors Board
• Member of the Altech Audit Committee
       

Experience:
During a 29-year career with Coopers & Lybrand (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Tony Dixon became Regional Chairman – KwaZulu-Natal and a long-serving member of the firm’s National Executive and Governing Board. From 1995 Tony has held a number of executive and non-executive directorships on a number of listed and unlisted boards including one of South Africa’s short-term insurance companies – Guardian National Insurance Company before its merger with Santam. These directorships included the positions of Managing Director, Financial Director and Chairman. He has considerable audit committee experience. Tony was the Executive Director of the Institute of Directors for the four years from 2004 to 2007. For a number of years he provided the secretariat role to the King Committee of which he is currently a member.

 

Date of Birth:
17 May 1962

Qualifications:
BA; LLB; Certificate in Mergers and Acquisitions

Titles:

• Independent Non-executive Director of Altech
• Chairman of the Altech Remuneration and Nomination Committee (appointed April 2011)
• Member of the University of Pretoria Centre for Responsible Leadership
• Former Non-executive Directorships include African Bank Limited, Juta and Company Limited, Stellenbosch Vineyards Limited
• Member of the Advisory Council of the UNISA Centre for Corporate Citizenship

Experience:
An admitted attorney, Notary Public and conveyancer, Ramani spent seven years in private legal practice before taking up her first corporate role as the Company Secretary for Airports Company SA. Her other positions have included head of legal services for the Southern Sun Group, Director of Edward Nathan Corporate Governance Advisory Services and Group Company Secretary of Adcock Ingram Holdings Limited. Ramani has a special interest in and has written extensively on corporate governance. She is the author of The Effective Directors Guide and Corporate Governance - An Essential Guide for South African Companies, the second edition of which was published in November 2009.

Joined the Altech board in 2004.

Date of Birth:
 8 July 1970

Qualifications:
LLB (University of Edinburgh)

Titles:

• Independent Non-executive Director of Altech
• Chairman of Thelo Group
• Chairman of National Empowerment Fund
• Deputy Chairman of Comair Limited
• Director of African Export-Import Bank

Experience:
Over 20 years in senior management positions.

Date of Birth:
12 October 1938

Qualifications:
M.B.B.Ch (Rand); C.R.C.P., F.R.C.P. (Canada); F.A.C.P. (USA) and Ph.D (Economics) (hc) (UFS)

Titles:

•  Non-executive Director of Altech
•  Trustee of the Sexwale Family Foundation
•  Member of the Altech Renumeration and Nomination Committee

Experience:
Dr Serebro studied medicine at Wits University, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Queens University in Ontario Canada, followed by post-doctoral training and residency in various hospitals around the world. Dr Serebro has penned many well recognised medical and non-medical publications over the years, and practised as a specialist from 1970 to 1987. He has 26 years in the electronics industry with the Altron group having joined the group on a full time basis in 1987.

Date of Birth:
4 January 1952

Qualifications:
BCom; BCompt (Hons); MBA (UK); CA (SA)

Titles:

• Independent Non-executive Director of Altech
• Chairman of the Altech Business Risk Committee
• Member of the Altech Audit, as well as the Remuneration and Nomination Committees
• Senior Partner of Gobodo Inc

Experience:
16 years in the accounting and auditing profession which includes Office of the Auditor General as a Corporate Executive; Senior Executive Partner within Ernst & Young and currently a Director at Gobodo Incorporated. Seven years in retail banking at Standard Bank and African Bank where he occupied senior executive positions. Former CEO of Northwest Development Corporation

Joined the Altech board in 2008.

Date of Birth:
27 May 1955

Qualifications:
BAcc; BCom (Hons); Higher Diploma Tax Law; Higher Diploma Company Law; CA (SA)
 

Titles:

• Independent Non–executive Director of Altech
• Chairman of the Altech Audit Committee and University of Zululand Foundation
• Chairman of Command Holdings Limited and a Director of the Public Investment Corporation, South African Airways and Growth Point
• Trustee of Government Employee Pension Fund
• Member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accounts, Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and Institute of Directors South Africa

Experience:
31 years in the accounting and auditing profession. He founded Sithole & Co, and co–founded Ebony Financial Services.

Joined the Altech board in 2008.

Date of Birth:
12 January 1969

Qualifications:
Bachelor of Laws (Honours) (Edinburgh); CA 

Titles:

• Chief Financial Officer and Financial Director of Altron
• Director of Altech, Bytes, Powertech and various other Group companies
• Member of the Altron Executive Committee and Risk Management Committee as well as the Altech Risk Management Committee

Experience:
14 years in the accounting profession with PricewaterhouseCoopers, both in the UK and
South Africa. Initially involved in auditing, later spending 8 years in the transaction services/
corporate finance fields. Five years’ of experience in financial management within the Altron Group.
Alex is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
 

Joined the Altech board in 2008.

Date of Birth:
7 May 1960

Qualifications:
BSc (Econ) (UCLA); MBA (UCLA) Dean’s List

Titles:

• Chief Executive Officer of Altron
• Director of Altech, Bytes and Powertech and various other Group companies
• Chairman of Aberdare Cables
• Chairman of the Altron Executive Committee
• Member of the Altron Risk Management Committee

Experience:
4 years merchant banking experience in the United States, the latter part as Vice–President, Bear Stearns and Co. Inc (1987 to 1990).

21 years' experience in senior management positions in the Altron group (1990 - current), including Chief Executive Officer of Aberdare Cables (1993 - 1996), Chief Executive Officer of Powertech (1994 - 2001) before joining Altron as Chief Executive (2001 - current).

Joined the Altech board in 2001.

Date of Birth:
29 July 1934

Qualifications:
DPhil (Bus Man) (UJ); MPhil (Bus Man) (UJ – cum laude); MBA (Wales); DCom (hc) (UP, UFS and UPE); DSc (Eng) (hc) (Natal); DEng (hc) (Wits); C Eng (UK)

A UK chartered engineer and founder of Altron, through Allied Electric in 1965 and recipient of the Order of Meritorious Service Gold (O.M.S.G), as awarded by the State President of South Africa for his significant contribution to South Africa’s electronics industry.

Titles:

• Non-executive Chairman of Altron, Bytes and Powertech
• Non-executive Director of Altech, Bytes and Powertech, former Chairman of the CSIR, and past Director of AMIC Limited and Nedbank Limited
• Member of the Altron Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee

Experience:
Some 45 years devoted to entrepreneurial endeavours and initiatives in the electronics, telecommunications and power electrical industries, both in South Africa and offshore, firstly as design engineer then marketing manager at STC (SA) and thereafter Chief Executive and latterly as Chairman of the Altron group.

Dr Venter has played an important role in developing the South African electronics and electrical industry into the key component of the national economy that it is today.

Awarded the Sunday Times Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, and the Minister’s Technology Top 100 Lifetime Achiever Award in 2009, in recognition of his significant contribution to technology development in South Africa. Voted as one of the top five businessmen of the year by the Sunday Times Business Times. Awarded teh SETA ICT Legend Award (2009) for his contribution to ICT development in southern Africa.

Joined the Altech board in 1975.