ANNOUNCEMENT: Bidding farewell to our Group Chief Executive (GCE), Mr. Maphum Nxumalo (2014 to 2022) and Welcome to Mr. Hamilton Ratshefola, our Group Managing Executive Director.
After 8 years of highly dedicated and selfless service to Gijima, including the last 5 years when he served as a Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Acting Group Chief Executive (GCE), our GCE, Maphum Nxumalo bids farewell to Gijima as he retires as our GCE and from being an IT executive after 45 years of service to local and global ICT companies.
After cutting his teeth in IT for 14 years with the Massmart group, ending up by running the Group’s IT facilities, Maphum joined Infloplan and proceeded to be executive and director of Global and local IT companies namely: Debis, Sybase, Arivia.Kom, Unisys, SAP, SAS, T-Systems and lastly Gijima. He has also served in the International Presidential ICT Advisory Committee to President Thabo Mbeki and the Y2K advisory Committee.
Maphum was recruited by our Chairman for over 15 years and finally joined Gijima as COO in 2014 and was then appointed as a deserving GCE in 2019 after a stint as an Acting GCE.
As of May 2022, Maphum will serve as a Gijima non-executive board member and an Executive member of the Guma Group, a 100% owner of Gijima and other diversified businesses including Guma Railways, Guma Energy, Tourvest, Guma Mining, Guma Infrastructure Development, Guma Health, etc.
As the Gijima family, we will remember Maphum for his work ethic, servant leadership, smart intellect, IT guru, business leadership and dedication to his role as GCE.
“I recall when we recruited him from T-Systems, in him, I saw someone who could join us and be an instrumental asset in the implementation of our turnaround strategy in his role as our COO.” Chairman.
In 2019, when Gijima was finally awarded to take over the Transnet contract from T-systems, Maphum was extremely instrumental to the successful bid preparation, negotiations, signing the contract and the successful delivery to Transnet. He led our investment into cloud computing and in a 3Tier Datacenter to make Gijima one of the largest mainframe providers and cyber security centre’s in Africa. He handled this task not only with ease but great enthusiasm.
Further, Maphum led Gijima’s successful turnaround into profitability. He recently also led the acquisition of T-Systems SA by Gijima which was monumental in that we saw a local player buy out and successfully maintain and integrate both the existing clients and staff complement from a global German conglomerate.
Maphum achieved this milestone during his tenure while dutifully serving under the leadership and mandate of the Chairman and Board.
They say whilst achievements speak for themselves, character ultimately murmers the unspoken of the man. This can be said to be true for Maphum who through the corridors of Gijima is characterised by his tall stature and his endearing warmth shown to all Gijimates.
We cannot forget how he interacted with the car wash team at the basement and his engagement with the facilities management team. He was always advocating for all employees in the organisation and knew everyone by name. His door was always open, irrespective of the pressures he faced.
Under his leadership, we achieved what we set out in our turnaround strategy when he first joined and continued to deliver. Today, he leaves behind a better and stronger Gijima than the one he found when he joined over 7 years ago. Under his leadership we grew our public and private sector client base.
“On behalf of our valuable staff members, Exco, board members and shareholder Guma Group, I would like to thank Maphum for his professional service to Gijima. He is a selfless and servant leader who put Gijima, our clients and employees first at all levels”.
Under his leadership, Gijima survived the COVID-19 impact as we focused on saving lives and livelihoods of our staff members.
“On behalf of the entire Exco, we wish Maphum all the best in his new journey at Guma and we are sure that he will remain a true Gijimate. Maphum is not lost to Gijima as he starts a new chapter at Guma.”
We wish Maphum all of the best in his new role as a non-Executive Director at Gijima and we know that he will continue to support and guide the Gijima team when needed.
We would like to thank his wife Sis Phindi, for supporting Maphum and Gijima in the past 7 years. Siyabonga Sis Phindi.
Once more, fair thee well Maphumzana!
GIJIMA NEW STEP CHANGE : Mr. Hamilton Ratshefola
Having had a phenomenal turnaround, growth, and profitability during Maphum’s era, the company now enters a new step change.
I as Chairman, have been trying to recruit the ICT industry leader and stalwart who I know will bring to Gijima unique but necessary changes. The advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution demands a step change from companies like Gijima. We need to transform our company to be relevant, to achieve profitable growth and attract and retain high performance and innovative staff members.
On that note, it is with great pleasure to announce the appointment of former IBM Southern Africa leader Mr. Hamilton Ratshefola as the Group Managing Executive (GME) for Gijima, who will lead the Gijima operations.
Mr Ratshefola as our newly appointed Group Managing Executive, will lead and steer the company for a year under contract to implement and transform Gijima operations, accelerate automation, infuse AI, refine operating model, improve productivity and most importantly strengthen the company balance sheet. The biggest mandate is to shift Gijima operating model to high margin offering segments.
Hamilton spent his first decade at IBM as a systems engineer, technical sales and later Sales leader and Sector leader, before leaving to co-found Cornastone Technology Holdings (Pty) Limited in 2000. He spent 13 years running his technology and services company Cornastone, where he won the IT Personallity of the year in 2007. Hamilton sold Cornastone to his business partner in 2012.
Hamilton returned to IBM in 2013, where he was Sales Director until May 2015, then became country General Manager for South Africa until 2018, where he became General Manager for
IBM Southern Africa. He brings to Gijima, thought Leadership, technical, entrepreneurial and global Corporate Leadership skills.
The board met and appointed Hamilton as the Group Managing Executive of Gijima.
They have enthusiastically accepted Hamilton’s business plan drawn up over the last six weeks where he spent time with each business unit management and Exco to turn Gijima into a
profitable company, to develop a sales team with a strong sales DNA, to innovatee and grow Gijima into a digitally transformed IT company in Africa.
Hamilton has a long history with Maphum and they have worked closely together for decades. The transition has been smooth. The board has full confidence in Hamilton and the management team to build onto the existing solid foundation.
Hamilton will work with the Chairman the board and Executive Management team to implement the restructuring of the company’s value offering to ensure that we continue to be innovative and to develop future business leaders, upskill our staff members and make Gijima a competitive player in the new world business order.
Hamilton intends to make Gijima to safeguard the jobs of our staff members and help grow the business so that we can create sustainable jobs through investing in our staff members as an employer of choice. Further, Gijima shall only focus on profitable business, so that we can remunerate our hardworking staff members.
He will further strengthen our business relationship with our OEM partners, staff members and our valuable clients. He will build a first in history Sales engine with a strong sales DNA to steer our growth.
He will drive projects delivery to clients on time and within budget and will instill a new discipline in how we manage the business to maintain and grow our profitability so that we can invest more in our staff members and technologies (automation).
Our next five-year plan will indeed propel, Gijima into a successful African IT company of Choice.
Please join me in welcoming Mr. Hamilton Ratshefola into our Gijima family.
Let us all remember that at Gijima: “None of us, is as good as all of us.”
Welcome to Mr. Hamilton Ratshefola our new Captain.
We are ready to go Beyond the clouds from our solid foundation.
Mr. Robert Gumede
Executive Chairman
For and on behalf of The Board of Directors
**ENDS