The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Simphiwe Duma as the Chief Executive Officer, as of 1 September following final approval by Cabinet last month.
Until recently, Ms Barbara Kortjass, the Agency's Chief Financial Officer was the interim CEO. Mr Duma brings with him a wealth of experience having begun his career in Massachusetts, United States of America, in 1994 where he worked as a Project Engineer for Coneco.
He has since worked his way to senior positions and has most recently been the Chief Executive and Chief Engineer at Psidot Technology Holdings (Pty) Ltd (Psidot Technologies), and also Chief Engineering Consultant at Lebone Engineering (Pty) Ltd. He has been the lead engineer on a number of projects in information and communications technology (ICT), defence, energy and local government.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Minor in Writing, from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the United States of America in 1994. He earned a Post Experience Diploma in Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick (United Kingdom) in 1999. He also received a Masters of Engineering degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pretoria in 2006.
A fellow at the South African Academy of Engineering, Mr Duma is professionally registered as an Electric Engineer by the Engineering Council of South Africa. He is also a senior member of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE).
The immediate challenge for Mr Duma is to build an organisation that can deliver on the strategic imperatives as spelt out in the TIA Act of 2008. The mission of TIA provides the four strategic pillars for the success of the organisation and these include: appropriately structured financial and non-financial interventions, human capital development for innovation, developing a culture of innovation and leveraging local and international partnerships.
Chairperson of the TIA Board, Dr Mamphela Ramphele has congratulated Mr Duma, saying he brings impressive practical and strategic management capabilities and experiences to the organisation.
"These capabilities are essential to TIA's successful pursuit of its mandate to take innovative ideas and research output to markets to accelerate South Africa's economic growth.
"TIA is now set to close the gap between scientific knowledge and technological goods and services to ensure sustainable development and South Africa's global competitiveness," says Dr Ramphele.
About TIA
TIA was formed from a merger of seven organisations funded by the Department of Science and Technology, including AMTS, BioPAD, Cape Biotech, Innovation Fund, LIFElab, PlantBio and Tshumisano and is mandated to stimulate and intensify technological innovation in order to improve economic growth and the quality of life of all South Africans.
To this end, the agency is set up to be a world class innovation organisation that supports and enables technological innovation to achieve socio-economic benefits for South Africa through leveraging strategic partnerships.
The agency seeks to build on the achievements of its forming entities, by continuing to support innovation and product development in the sectors it operates within. Among the key projects and initiatives that receive support from TIA is the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research In South Africa (CAPRISA) 004 trial of the Tenofovir microbicide gel, for the prevention of HIV infection in women. The results of the trial were announced at the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna.
The microbicide containing one percent Tenofovir, an antiretroviral drug widely used in the treatment of HIV, was found to be 39 percent effective in reducing a woman's risk of becoming infected with HIV during sex and 51 percent effective in preventing genital herpes infections in the women participating in the trial. The study involved 889 women at high risk of HIV infection at an urban and a rural site in KwaZulu-Natal.
TIA holds a royalty free licence agreement with CONRAD for the manufacture and distribution of the final product once all trials and regulatory procedures have been completed.
In May 2010, TIA became the world's first government agency to join in the Pool for Open Innovation (Pool) against Neglected Tropical Diseases.
The agreement gives TIA researchers and associates the opportunity to be associated with world renowned players in the drug discovery and development field.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding for the Pool provides a framework that will assist TIA with knowledge transfer, capacity building and development; and commercialisation of new and improved medicines to address neglected tropical diseases.
TIA intends to use intellectual property and know-how from the Pool to accelerate its efforts to grow the South African drug discovery and development sector; and enhance the quality of life of those affected by neglected tropical diseases. Initially, TIA will focus on research in tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.
Contact:
Sibusisiwe Mothoa
Tel: +2712 001 7125
Simphiwe Duma appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Technology Innovation Agency
