De Raad van Bestuur van Dimension Data Group heeft Brett Dawson benoemd tot Group Chief Executive Officer. Dawson was COO van de Dimension Data Group. Jeremy Ord, voorheen CEO en voorzitter van de Raad van Bestuur van de Group, houdt de laatstgenoemde functie. De splitsing van de rollen van CEO en Voorzitter van de Raad van Bestuur is in lijn met de nieuwe regels en richtlijnen voor corporate governance.
Onderstaand treft u het volledige, Engelstalige persbericht aan.
Voor meer informatie en/of fotomateriaal:
Lammers van Toorenburg Benelux PR
Cas Heuvelmans
T: 030 65 65 070
E. cas@lvtpr.nl
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The Dimension Data Group Names Brett Dawson as Group CEO and David Sherriffs as Group CFO; Jeremy Ord remains Group Chairman
JOHANNESBURG, March 1, 2004 - Dimension Data announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Brett Dawson as Group Chief Executive Officer and executive board member of Dimension Data plc. Jeremy Ord, who was previously Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, remains Group Chairman.
Dimension Data's splitting of the role of Chairman and CEO aligns the Group with global regulatory and corporate governance best practice. The appointment of a CEO coincides with the Group's increased focus on growth strategies during a time of growing market opportunity.
Malcolm Rutherford has decided to resign from his position as Chief Financial Officer. Malcolm will step down as executive director on the board of Dimension Data plc with immediate effect, but will remain on the board in a non-executive capacity. David Sherriffs has been appointed to succeed Malcolm as Chief Financial Officer. Commenting on this change, Rutherford said: "I am pleased to have helped Dimension Data through the difficult years and proud of what we have achieved as a management team. The Group is now in much better shape and I feel that it is time to hand over the reins to someone else."
Brett Dawson and David Sherriffs will assume their positions with immediate effect. Malcolm Rutherford will work closely with David Sherriffs over the next three months to ensure an orderly handover of his role. Ord commented: "Malcolm has been working with the Group since 1991 and his contributions have been substantial. He is an exceptional performer with a detailed knowledge of the Group and I am pleased he has agreed to stay on our Board as a non-executive director."
Brett Dawson has served as Dimension Data's Chief Operating Officer since October 2002 and has a strong track record and wealth of experience within the Group. Since joining Dimension Data in 1997, Brett has acted as Financial Director of the Group joint venture, OmniLink. He was instrumental in growing the business, which exceeded all business plan objectives and claimed a dominant market share in the South African market. Following the merger of OmniLink and The Internet Solutions, Brett was appointed CEO of The Internet Solutions, where he continued to demonstrate his management strength and ability to maximize profitability. In September 2001, Brett relocated to take on the role of CFO of Dimension Data North America. In this role he focused on integrating Group acquisitions in that territory.
Prior to joining Dimension Data, Brett was responsible for corporate strategy and planning at National Brands Limited and held corporate finance positions at Anglovaal Limited and KMPG. Brett is a Chartered Accountant.
"Brett has proven his diverse leadership competencies in many areas of our business. His recent successes in managing the Group strategy and operations during extremely difficult global business conditions, coupled with his ability to maintain, attract, and inspire key talent made it a logical decision to appoint Brett as CEO," said Ord.
David Sherriffs is a Charted Accountant who joined the Group in 1997 as a member of the finance team, primarily involved in corporate finance activities. In 2000, David was named Vice President of Business Development for Europe and relocated to Germany. During this time, David was instrumental in developing and executing the expansion strategies for the European operations through acquisitions of companies such as Comparex Networks Europe, Chernikeeff and Merchants in the UK. From 2003, David has served as Group Executive Operations and has been responsible for business case assessments for strategic projects. Prior to joining the Dimension Data Group, David served in various financial, corporate finance and strategy roles for the Anglo American Corporation, including Executive Assistant to the Chairman. David received his M. Phil in Management Studies at the University of Oxford.
"Dave's international business expertise, operational acumen and merger and acquisition experience give him a rich background and in his capacity as Group Executive Operations, I have appreciated Dave's insights and diligence." says Dawson. "I am excited to have Dave as a key member of my team and look forward to working together to further improve the company's financial performance."
Enquiries:
Media:
Connie de Lange
Dimension Data (South Africa)
(27) 11 575 0000
Tom Buchanan
Brunswick (UK)
(44) 20 7404 5959
Investors/Analysts
Bronwyn Goeller
Dimension Data (South Africa)
(27) 11 575 0000
Karen Cramer
Dimension Data (UK)
(44) 20 7651 7000
Note to editors
Dimension Data Holdings plc (LSE: DDT) is a leading global technology company. The Group provides solutions and services that optimise and manage the performance of IT infrastructures to enable business to build competitive advantage. To achieve this, the Group delivers solutions using its proprietary 'Application Network' architectural framework and its expertise in networking, application integration and managed services.
Dimension Data, founded in 1983, had revenues of $2.1 billion in 2003 and operates in 30+ countries with over 7 500 employees. For more information, please go to www.didata.com.
No further details as required under Paragraph 16.4 of the FSA Listing Rules remain to be disclosed in respect of Brett Dawson's appointment to the Board.