Piet Opperman is an independent management consultant and researcher who has successfully managed several research projects culminating in the publication of acclaimed reports, with subject matter including Information Security, Financial Management of IT, Web Services, Business Process management and Mobile Technologies.
Piet also performs consulting assignments for a small number of international clients in the fields of business and IT strategy, governance, compliance and information security. He is also the Managing Director of the Information Security Institute of South Africa (ISIZA) (www.isi-za.org).
Following a wide-ranging career in information technology in the United States, Europe and Africa, Piet now specialises in strategic management issues. He has worked for vendors, academic institutions, consulting firms and large financial institutions. He has filled roles in systems development, support, general management and executive management. Piet has an MBA from Henley Management College (UK), and is a Past President and Fellow of the Computer Society of South Africa.
Contact Details:
Phone: +27 (0)83 678 9798
Email: piet@pieto.com
Snailmail: Box 84, Broederstroom, 0240 South Africa
Applicable Academic Qualifications:
Attained Diploma in Management of Information Systems Resources from Harvard Graduate Business School, 1990.
Attained Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from Henley Management College, 1993.
Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Henley Management College, 2001.
Professional Recognition:
Fellow and Past President (1991-1993) of the Computer Society of South Africa.
Council Member and Honorary Treasurer of Information Industry South Africa (IISA), the representative body of the information technology industry in South Africa.
Chairman of the Best Practices Working Group of the Global Alliance for Information Security
References
Doug Neal – Fellow, Computer Sciences Corporation
Ettienne Theart – Information Systems Architect, Eskom
Ken Hill -- CIO, General Dynamics Corporation
John Taylor -- Fellow, DuPont Corporation
John M Thompson – Chairman, Arthur D. Little
Renee Jacobs – Gartner South Africa
Prof. Basie von Solms – Rand Afrikaans University
Prof Andy Andrews – Graduate Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT) and Educor
Prof Dewald Roode – University of Pretoria
Prof Jan Eloff – Rand Afrikaans University
Career and Achievements:
Operating as a consultant to a small number of local and international clients in the fields of business and IT strategy, ecommerce, outsourcing and information security. A regular speaker on the topics of ecommerce and information security. Addressed audiences in the past 5 years in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Taipei, Hong Kong, Dublin, London, Seattle, Washington DC, Berlin, The Hague, Brussels and Squaw Valley, California. Was a keynote speaker at the Global Information Security Summit held in Washington DC mid-October 2000, and a participant in a high-level closed workshop on security in the next generation Internet held in Berlin, November 2000. Regularly addresses MBA class at Wits Business School. Chairman of the Best Practices working group of the Global Alliance for Information Security. A keynote speaker at the December 2002 EuroCIO conference in Brussels, Belgium, on the subject of the Information Security Management self assessment instrument developed in conjunction with Computer Sciences Corporation (see www.isi-za.org ). Nominated for the Global IT Excellence Award awarded by the World IT Services Association (WITSA). Managed and facilitated contract negotiations between South Africa’s electricity utility (ESKOM) and their IT outsourcing supplier (arivia.kom).
Successfully authored and co-authored several research reports and many white papers on Information Security, Web Services, and the Financial Management of IT. Developed and successfully deployed a Web-based self-assessment tool for Information Security. Founded the South African Institute for Information Security (Isiza). Successfully reconciled ESKOM and arivia.kom negotiations, and set up metrics programs and an innovative system of customer-oriented service level agreements, as well as joint management structures.
Appointed as Technology Strategist for Liberty Group, with specific responsibility to identify strategic business opportunities in IT and to initiate the necessary actions to capitalise on those opportunities. Participated in the strategic planning process in the Liberty Life Group and in several high-level management committees, including the Technology Strategy Committee.
Also assigned full responsibility for the Y2K remediation, transition, business and technical contingency planning for the Liberty Group, reporting to the Management Committee, Audit and Actuarial Committee, and the Board.
* Developed and gained acceptance of several far-reaching strategies, including a strategy for e-commerce (MyLife), and a strategy for the technical and business development of Blueprint.
* Managed the Y2K transition of the Liberty Life Group with no business disruption and minimal technical problems, including the most successful year-end processing cycle in recent times.
* Developed an innovative educational strategy and methodology for the education and training of systems developers.
* Conceived, developed and gained acceptance and commitment for the concept of an electronic insurance industry information exchange, aggregating the policyholder information from multiple insurance companies, an initiative set to revolutionise the life insurance industry.
Acted as General Manager, Information Technology Services for Liberty Life, comprising data centers, local and wide area networks, voice networks, computer operations, and strategic planning for information technology. Later also assigned responsibility for security, conference centres, catering, stationery, mail services, building maintenance and furnishings. As such, served as a standing member of Liberty Life’s Management Committee.
Managed and controlled 450 people, a operational budget of R130 million per annum and capital expenditure of R40 million per annum.
* Consolidating two data centers into one, with resultant savings, and successfully initiating and negotiating the sale of the redundant building.
* Maintaining mainframe operational costs at the same level as 1990 for the subsequent three years, in the face of a 30% increase in business volumes processed every year. With inflation taken into account, this represented a significant decrease in costs.
* Computer operations adjudged to be more efficient than the world-class benchmark group in an independent study, 1994.
* Customer satisfaction with service delivered adjudged among best in South Africa in survey by Wits Business School.
* Delivered logistical support for the successful deployment of Blueprint to about 5000 intermediaries.
* Established Customer Care, a central facility for the reporting and management of all problems relating to technology and physical infrastructure.
* Re-orienting about 450 staff into a culture of customer service and operational excellence, acknowledged publicly by the Managing Director in November 1994.
* Successfully introduced SAP to replace ineffective systems for purchasing, accounts payable and asset management. Later expanded to General Ledger, Payroll and Human Resources.
* Finalist for the Liberty Life Managing Director’s Award 1997.
Managed Liberty Life’s systems development division, with the specific objective of re-orienting systems development to address business strategies and user expectations. Achieved this through systematically devolving systems development responsibilities to user divisions, retaining central control of standards and methodologies.
* Successfully introducing the concept of Total Quality management to Liberty Life, now part of what is known as The Liberty Way, one of the foundation of the company’s operational philosophy.
9
Joined Comcon Computer Management Consultants, initially as consultant, eventually as director and shareholder. Responsibilities included strategic planning, systems audits, hardware and software selection and contract negotiation, systems design, standards design and project management for major clients, including Liberty Life, Old Mutual, Siemens, SA Perm, Barclays Industrial Bank, Trust Bank, Shell, and Sasol.
Contributed to the development of Tetrarch, an integrated set of systems development methodologies and tools.
Conceived, designed and developed GOLD (Goals, Objectives, Leadership, Discipline), a set of project management methodologies, tools, manuals, training courses and templates specifically addressing the problems faced by computer systems development project managers.
Successfully project managed the development of Liberty Life’s PINBALL (Procedure for Interactive New Business at Liberty Life) system, today the cornerstone of Liberty’s New Business and workflow control systems.
Details supplied on request
|
