[
Johannesburg, 8 November
2007 ] -
Crowning a week in which a recent Cornastone investment, DVT, listed
on AltX, Cornastone CEO and DVT chairman Hamilton Ratshefola was named
the Computer Society of SA (CSSA) IT Personality of the Year 2007 last
night.
Hamilton Ratshefola and CSSA president Moira de Roche |
The award was presented by the CSSA in
association with ITWeb, Gartner Africa and the Gordon Institute of
Business Science.
A finalist in last year's awards and
regarded as one of SA's 20 most influential black businessmen,
Ratshefola said in accepting the award that his 17 years in the ICT
sector had been a "revelation and a roller-coaster".
He highlighted his optimism about the
potential for future business growth in SA, saying: "SA is full of
opportunities. It just depends if you want to be negative and focus on
things like crime, or you want to see the opportunities."
He sounded a warning to local business
that countries like China and India posed a strong competitive threat:
"We'd better move faster if we want to compete."
Ratshefola and last year's winner, Anthony Fitzhenry |
Ratshefola also saluted his former
employer, IBM, thanking the company for its investment in his training
and development, and noting that, as a result, he now strongly
recognised the importance of investing in people. Ratshefola has long
championed skills development, previously challenging skilled
professionals to "get off the golf course and get their hands dirty"
by working as an advisor or mentor.
Ratshefola founded Cornastone with his
partner Lufuno Nevhutalu in October 2000, financing it with second
bonds on their homes. The company now has over R200 million in revenue
and R20 million operating profit, and employs over 250 people.
Cornastone employs at least 30
graduates a year, rather than give internships that end with no
employment. The new employees are given skills training as well as
life training and are assisted with deposits for their accommodation.
Top-6 finalist Mirriam Zwane congratulates the winner |
He also has a stake in a new Christian
TV channel, Walking on Water, as he believes Christian values are key
to combating many of SA's ills.
Moira de Roche, CSSA president and
chairman of the judging panel, said the finalists in this year's
awards demonstrated the strength and breadth of ICT leadership in SA.
The six finalists were James Grcic, MD
of Computer Storage Services Africa; Mirriam Zwane, co-owner and
director of Praxis Computing; Pfungwa Serima, MD of Microsoft SA;
Phuthuma Nhleko, CEO of MTN Group; and the Western Cape IT Personality
of the Year regional winner, Neville Naaidoo, executive director and
business development manager at Datacentrix.
Fellowship Award
Top-6 finalist Pfungwa Serima and Ratshefola |
Peter Waker, VP for education and
training on the CSSA Executive Council, was named winner of the CSSA
Fellowship Award. He was lauded for his contribution to starting up
and running the annual Computer Olympiad, as well as for helping drive
the CSSA's International Computer Driving Licence programme.
Waker, in turn, thanked the "thousand
teachers", whose work had made the Olympiad a growing success. This
year, the Olympiad attracted nearly 33 000 entries.
