
Entrepreneur | Web Strategist | Creator of Powerful Ideas
Cape Town Area, South Africa

Entrepreneur | Web Strategist | Creator of Powerful Ideas
Cape Town Area, South Africa
Hi! I'd like to help you in any way that I can.
I am the improbable combination of a maven, salesman and connector: a technology evangelist with solid experience in successful startups, global NGOs and large corporations. I move easily between technical programming discussions and executive boardroom meetings. My qualification is a BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and I am currently pursuing an MSc in Engineering Management. My company, however, is my foremost passion. My knowledge and skill sets are inter-disciplinary, but I specialize in online social media strategy (particularly community building), hi-tech entrepreneurship, Web/Enterprise 2.0 tools, wiki-based knowledge management and virtual collaboration of work groups. As a strategic thinker with a holistic understanding of the Internet (proficient in technical, commercial, social and public policy aspects), I am well positioned to deploy new ideas into this space.
At this stage I'm happy to offer my services in speaking, advisory, consulting and people connector roles on exciting projects. I enjoy doing pro bono work when time allows and like to assist friends wherever possible. I am based across South Africa but am also interested in (temporary) international opportunities.
I love meeting new people and building relationships- connect with me and let's talk.
strategic business thinking, communicating and interpersonal skills, selling, entrepreneurial experience, technical/analytical ability, exceptional ICT proficiency, social networking expertise, virtual teams, knowledge management, Web/Enterprise 2.0 tools, geek/nerd management
(Internet industry)
March 2008 — Present (7 months)
A young technology startup focused on the social networking, media publishing and targeted advertising space. We are currently in stealth mode, and will release further details soon.
(We are always interested in partnering with top talent).
(Non-Profit; 51-200 employees; E-Learning industry)
August 2007 — Present (1 year 2 months)
Selected from global candidates to co-develop Internet Governance strategy on various e-roundtables. Also the winner of an International Telecommunication Fellowship to be DiploFoundation's youth representative at the 2nd UN Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro. Currently in charge of developing online social networking best practices and related content for the organisation.
(Think Tanks industry)
July 2007 — Present (1 year 3 months)
Corvus Future Design is an inter-disciplinary think tank that is backed by a wealthy patron. The mandate of the group is open-ended and fluid; but it is the consistently high quality of ideas and people that characterize its development. In 2007, a large scenario planning project was undertaken to explore future economic and business trends in a post 2010 (i.e. after the Soccer World Cup) South Africa.
(Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Non-Profit Organization Management industry)
January 2007 — January 2008 (1 year 1 month)
CCI is a NGO based in Prague which specializes in creating international platforms for political training and cross cultural exchange amongst young, global leaders. I managed and facilitated team work amongst a group of delegates at the 1st International Youth Leadership Africa conference in Cape Town, 2007, and at the 15th International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague, 2008.
(Non-Profit; 10,001 or more employees; Telecommunications industry)
November 2006 — December 2007 (1 year 2 months)
The IEEE is the largest technical professional body in the world, with over 360 000 members. I was the first undergraduate appointed to the student branch executive. After my arrival in the student branch leadership, we managed to attain a branch membership growth rate of 300% from the previous year, and create one of the most successful IEEE student branches in the country.
(Educational Institution; Telecommunications industry)
February 2004 — November 2007 (3 years 10 months)
see "Education"
(Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Civil Engineering industry)
October 2006 — October 2007 (1 year 1 month)
I was the first male executive of SAWomEng (South African Women in Engineering)- a non-profit which hopes to improve the current gender-equity status quo in the engineering industry in South Africa. In 2007, we hosted a week long conference for the top 50 female engineering students in the country. I managed the technology portfolio, and sourced selected speakers and VIPs for the conference.
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Consumer Goods industry)
July 2007 — July 2007 (1 month)
Foodsolutions is a smaller, fast moving B2B unit within Unilever. As the first ever intern in this department, I analysed rate of sales data from strategic business partners and developed a methodology to provide a broad sales-out view of the business, which was used to optimize CRM and increase business intelligence.
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)
November 2006 — January 2007 (3 months)
Immedia is a leading Internet solutions company, and counts the Kagiso Media group amongst its key customers. Responsibilities included designing and project managing the development of a comprehensive knowledge management system for the business, as well as working with clients in Internet strategy and other e-Solutions.
(Self-Employed; 1-10 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)
October 2004 — September 2006 (2 years)
Founder and managing partner of the innovative student advertising start-up, Trafik Student Networks. Born out of a dorm room in first year of university, the company created an innovative marketing model (based on a tiered-discounting scheme for students) which engaged various stakeholders of the student advertising and retail businesses. Also acted as an accelerated marketing channel for corporate and entertainment entities to advertise to and develop brand presence with students..
Master of Science, Engineering Management, 2008 — 2009 (expected)
Currently in progress. I am exploring the future virtualization of business enterprises, and joining full-time MBA students at the USB for selected courses of interest.
Certificate, Internet Governance, 2008 — 2008
DiploFoundation is a widely respected educational institution which uses sophisticated e-learning methods to train international actors in the Internet Governance arena. I successfully completed their Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme (IGCBP) Foundation Course.
Certificate, Leadership, 2007 — 2007
Attended an intensive, week-long youth forum in Prague called the International Youth Leadership Conference. Themes included global diplomacy, law, human rights, EU government institutions and (naturally) leadership.
Bachelor of Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2004 — 2007
My choice of undergraduate study was Electrical and Computer Engineering. Being the only double-majored engineering degree, the course was challenging. The numbers in our class due to graduate on time (4 years) shrunk about 90% since first year. I specialized by doing my thesis in wireless telecommunications, and finished in the top 8 in my class.
Certificate, Spanish, 2006 — 2006
Studied Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina for 80 hours of classes, in January 2006.
entrepreneurship, technology, e-Everything, speaking & communicating, guerrilla marketing, economics, global citizenship, fitness, languages, politics and world affairs, theater, psychology, good reading
IEEE, Future Entrepreneurs of the World Summit, Youth Strategy Forum for IGF World Summit, DiploFoundation, Geek Dinner
South African PhD Project Alumnus, 2008
Nominated for UN IGF Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group (1 of 3 African candidates), 2008
DiploFoundation Scholarship for IGCBP, 2008
Award of Service from Civic Concepts International, 2007/8
International Telecom. Union Fellowship for IGF II in Rio, 2007
Brightest Young Mind (1 of 100- South Africa), 2007
Macquarie Institute for Innovation Scholarship (Sydney, Australia), 2007
Unilever IBMC Alumnus, 2007
UCT Entrance Scholarship, 2003
Mayor's Matriculation Award (Durban), 2003
8th (out of >100 000 candidates) in Province (KZN) in Matric (Grade 12), 2003
Dux of Crawford College North Coast, 2003
7th in "KZN Open" IFBB Body Building Champs (aged 16 in the U21 division), 2002
Gold Medal (1st in South Africa), International Australian Schools Computer Studies Competition, 2001
Crawford College North Coast 100% Scholarship, 1998 - 2003
Dux of Clifton Preparatory School, 1998
Gold Medal in National Expo for Young Scientists, 1998