Teddy Daka, the recently-appointed chairman of JSE-listed diversified technology group Etion, is joining engineering firm Zutari as co-CEO.
Daka, who was also Etion CEO before his resignation in November last year, will co-lead the engineering consulting firm together with current CEO Dr Gustav Rohde, as the recently launched company pursues fresh opportunities in the Middle East.
At Zutari, Daka will focus on digital transformation, technology, strategic partnerships and future growth.
Zutari was officially launched in July 2020, following the demerger of Aurecon Africa in October 2019 from the global business in Melbourne, Australia.
In a statement, Zutari says the appointment of Daka and Rohde as co-CEOs will help the company manage the shifting market conditions faced by consulting engineers, and ensure it continues to thrive in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic challenges.
“We are privileged to have two international business professionals now shaping Zutari’s future. Our board’s decision to follow the co-CEO route was not taken lightly. We believe the complementary strengths of Teddy and Gustav will future-proof Zutari against emerging trends of digitisation, disruptions and risks, while building on its ability to co-create world-class infrastructure solutions,” says Zutari chairperson Dr Lulu Gwagwa.
Prior to his recent appointment, Daka was the driving force behind Etion’s foray into the Middle East, Latin America and South East Asia to revive the firm’s growth prospects.
Under his watch, Etion began piloting its Internet of things technology solutions in Indonesia and Mexico, while growing its tactical navigation and cyber security markets in the Middle East.
Daka, the 2018 IT Personality of the Year award winner, turned Etion from a loss-making engineering firm, to a profitable digital technology business.
When he joined Etion, then known as Ansys, in 2012, he told ITWeb he had two objectives: to turn the business around from one that was doing poorly, into a profitable one, and to transform it from its engineering heritage to a digital technology entity that is ready to drive the fourth industrial revolution in Africa.
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