jimmy van der merwe

In 2004, I joined the Mobile Technology entity ITEX (Pty)Ltd as CEO and shareholder. Within 2,5 years, I have turned the company around and realised more than R10 million value for the shareholders. During this process I have taken the entity into markets like Nigeria and unlocked the full potential of the software products. In 2007, I have taken ITEX (Pty)Ltd to the market as a profitable entity with annuity contracts and extensive internally developed software intellectual property. I concluded the sale of ITEX to Blue Label Telecoms Limited during February 2007, realising the shareholders value created.

I joined Deloitte South Africa as an articled clerk in 1996 to qualify as a Chartered Accountant, and have spend 9 years with this incredible firm in both the audit and consulting businesses. In 2002 at age 29, I became an Associate Director in the Consulting division, focussing on innovation and business development, assisting in growing service offerings and markets.

I was fortunate to spend some of my time assisting Deloitte in creating value. This is done through the developing, selling and implementing of new products, ideas and business ventures for Deloitte – my brief: “grow the Deloitte businesses and position Deloitte strategically in Africa”. Through this opportunity, I designed, implemented and operated the Deloitte Academy Internship program for 3 years. This programme entailed the sourcing of external funding and the recruitment of interns from colleges. Through this programme, Deloitte created futures for more than 1400 individuals.

I was appointed CFO of the Blue Label Technology entities in 2007. These entities included, ITEX (Pty)Ltd, Transaction Junction (Pty)Ltd and Activi (Pty) Ltd. In 2010 I became the CFO of Blue Label Distribution (Pty)Ltd, consolidating all the Technology entities with the Sales entities (Comexpress, Kwikpay and Virtual Voucher). During the 6 year with this very entrepreneurial JSE listed group, I have been instrumental in optimising and growing this entity into a R9 billion turnover company. This included the re-engineering of business processes, restructuring of the company and the implementation of Microsoft CRM, Navision, Ulysses and Cognos. I have served on various Board of Directors of the Blue Label Telecoms Limited and have also been a member of the Risk Committee and the Strategy Committee.