Software AG appoints new country leader for South African operations
Following the departure of Mohamed Cassoojee, digital transformation consultancy Software AG has appointed Kholiwe Makhohliso as the new leader of its South African practice. The former managing director at Oracle has over two decades of experience in the software consulting segment.
Much like the rest of the world, the South African market is struggling with significant disruption from advancement in technology and digital mechanisms. The economy is among the richest on the continent, and is relatively well diversified, although it continues to rely substantially on commodity-based trades such as mining.
Innovation is the battle cry in South Africa, and a major prerequisite for innovation in today’s world is a strong digital infrastructure. Enter Software AG, a German digital transformation consulting firm with operations in 70 countries across the world, including a strong presence in South Africa.
The firm’s flagship Digital Business Platform allows clients to improve customer engagement, while its expertise in Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) facilitates integration with the international market. The firm employs more than 4,500 professionals worldwide, and generates revenues of nearly €900 million.
In February this year, the firm’s Vice President for South African operations, Mohamed Cassoojee, vacated his post for other engagements. Two months later, the firm has announced that Kholiwe Makhohliso will take his place as Vice President and Country Managing Director for South Africa.
Makhohliso has an academic background in accounting and auditing from the University of Transkei, having subsequently completed four executive and leadership development programmes: one each from the IESE Business School, Cranfield University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Business School.
She began her professional career as an accountant at PDB, where she remained for seven years, after which she made her first entry into the consulting space as Project Manager for System Implementation and Support at Accenture Technology Solutions. Following a two-year hiatus from Accenture, wherein she was the Chief Financial Officer for the National Heritage Council, Makhohliso returned to the strategy consulting firm as Senior Manager for Consulting and Business Development.
Thereafter, she spent another five years at Accenture, ascending to the position of Sales Director, following which she joined international software giant Oracle as Senior Sales Manager for Public Sector Applications. She spent the next six years at Oracle, eventually ascending to the position of Country Managing Director & Technology Leader.
She left Oracle in 2017 to complete her programme at Harvard, and she now takes up her new position at Software AG. In her new role, Makhohliso will report to Phillippe La Fornara, who is the President and Head of the EMEA region at Software AG.
