The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) has appointed Barlow Manilal as CEO.
Manilal replaces professor Rivka Kfir, whose tenure as interim CEO ended at the end of March.
The TIA was established in terms of the TIA Act, 2008, with the objective of stimulating and intensifying technological innovation to improve economic growth and the quality of life of all South Africans by developing and exploiting technological innovations. It receives about R400 million a year from government.
Manilal's appointment comes at a time when the TIA is undergoing a major restructuring process, including job retrenchments. In an exclusive interview with ITWeb, the incoming CEO vowed to steady the ship and boost staff morale.
"The agency is in the final stages of an intense organisational redesign process. The major challenge for now is to conclude this process and bring about stability while still supporting our mandate and delivering value to our stakeholders...all concurrently," he said.
"We need to focus on addressing staff morale issues which usually decline during environments that undergo significant change."
The extent of change brought by the restructuring process did inevitably create fear, insecurity and uncertainty, he commented.
"I am assessing the magnitude and complexity of these challenges and will proceed with interventions which will aim to minimise the disruption and expedite our actions. Notwithstanding internal capacity constraints, I have started engaging with staff representatives with the intent to jointly assess the issues and implement appropriate corrective action."
The TIA had competent staff who still had a significant role to play in the development of the innovations arena, he noted. "We are, however, in a rebuilding process and would like to be optimistic and ambitious about our future; this journey starts here."
A parallel area of focus would be on the TIA's operational efficiencies and effectiveness, to optimise the agency's processes and systems so it becomes more dynamic and responsive, while ensuring sound corporate governance and accountability.
In his first six to 12 months, Manilal will look to ensure systems and process integration, with continuous improvement initiatives focusing on operational excellence, before concentrating on brand and positive corporate positioning in the next 12 to 18 months.
After five years, his goal is for the TIA to be considered as a premier custodian of the innovation and technology agenda in SA.
There have also been reports of the TIA being under-funded, particularly after government drastically cut the agency's budget last year following the removal of then CEO Simphiwe Duma and CFO Barbara Kortjass for gross misconduct.
To Manilal, funding is a matter of scale, versus impact, versus probability of success.
"Scale will become irrelevant if impact is not significant. Impact will become meaningless if our ability to commercialise and create a sustainable business model cannot be realised.
"The TIA's ability to disburse funds efficiently has been under a bit of scrutiny in the media; it must also be noted we have many success stories that are not covered. The TIA's mandate cannot be realised on its own; it needs to work with a number of partners within this space and the private sector has an important role to play here."
Manilal holds a BSc Hons degree in industrial technology and management and several other management qualifications. He gained knowledge of project engineering and manufacturing in the automotive OEM environment at Toyota SA and Mercedes Benz SA.
Prior to joining the TIA, Manilal spent 14 years at the Automotive Industry Development Centre, of which seven years were as CEO.
He also served as national president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transportation of South Africa from 2006 until the beginning of 2015.
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