Logicalis makes three senior appointments to boost African operations

Digital solutions provider Logicalis South Africa has made three new appointments to its senior ranks with the objective of expanding its operations across the African continent. The firm has appointed a new Managing Executive for Sales and Marketing, a new CISO and a Manager for the Cloud Practice. 

Founded in 1997, Logicalis is a British firm that has since expanded its operations to have a presence in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. Up until now, the firm’s presence on the African continent has been limited to a presence in Cape Town, a scenario that is now set to change.

The firm is looking to use its base in Cape Town to build a larger regional network across Africa, to which end it not only requires additional manpower, but also an expansion of the scope and range of its capabilities. To this end, the firm has made three senior appointments in various departments.

Jakes Jakobsen takes over as the Managing Executive of Sales and Marketing at Logicalis. He has a professional career that spans over two decades, including a stint as a Service Delivery Manager at Q Data Consulting, A Principal Sales Specialist at Dimension Data and a Managing Executive at StorTech.

Caesar Tonkin takes over as the firm’s new Chief Information Security Officer for South Africa and the broader Africa region. An MBA from the University of Witwatersrand, Tonkin’s experience of nearly two decades is heavily concentrated in the domain of cybersecurity. 

Tonkin has been the Global Information Security Manager at Anglo America, the CEO of GRCBizassurance and the Head of Cyber Security at StorTech. Tonkin joins Logicalis directly from global professional services firm PwC, where he has been  cybersecurity consultant for just under a year.

Lastly, Morné Laubscher joins as the new Practice Manager for Hybrid IT & Cloud. Laubscher has a background in engineering and has worked in senior positions in a number of IT firms, including evolve networks, B-Logic and StorTech, where he was the Lead for the Microsoft Business Group. As cloud practice manager, Laubscher will handle the increasing demand for cloud transitions amongst South African firms of all sizes.

Commenting on the appointments, CEO of Logicalis South Africa Frikkie Gobler said, “The three appointments add a great deal of expertise to the team as the business continues to expand its offering across Southern Africa and other African markets. We are extremely proud of the world-class managed services business we have built in a short space of time. We are servicing local and international markets and are positioned to extend our scope beyond services by offering bespoke digital business solutions to our customers.”