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.
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 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.
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
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.
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