CURRICULUM VITAEnicolaas van noordwykEngineering Consulting and Project ManagementCountries of Operation – South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Ghana
Industry Sectors – Oil and Gas, Mining, Telecommunications, Insurance, Banking Nico has more than 33 years’ experience in business consulting and management. He is the owner of WhirlAway founded in April 2003 in South Africa and the co-founder of Sub-Sahara Infrastructure Synergies, which was founded in 2010 in Nigeria. He is the co founder of African Infrastructure Resources Ltd, Mauritius . The focus of the businesses are project management and management consulting services to Mobile Operators, Telco’s, Infrastructure Developers and Mining and the Petroleum sectors.
Nico is a strong Management Consultant with expertise in the delivery of Telecom & IT, Insurance and Security & Access control in Mining, as well as in LPG Terminals with technologies, applications, processes and solutions.
Nico holds an MBA and a MDP degree and is a fellow of the Open University, United Kingdom. He also holds a National Diploma in Telecommunication. Be strongly believes in the importance of continual development and has undertaken additional qualifications and certifications over the years to support his expertise offering. Backed by strong credentials and a proven history of on-time, on-budget and high-quality project completions, he is able to bring economic value add to any business. His business development skills drive him to naturally seek new opportunities and to up-sell within any account.
Nico has an excellent record of accomplishment in delivering project success, overseeing all phases of multimillion-dollar construction projects, a variety of infrastructure improvements, co-location (passive and active equipment) projects and other managed service and processes/applications projects. He has also delivered successful environmental projects for government and private sector clients, both nationally and into Africa.
Nico has a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges and context to delivering sustainable value in Africa – he has managed complex engineering construction programmes and projects successfully, using power sources as diverse as battery technology to grid and off-grid electricity sources. He has a proven capability of delivering change initiatives through transformation and service improvement and an ability to design, build, lead, influence and motivate large high-performing teams over multiple locations and cultures. Nico has served on numerous Boards of listed/and non-listed companies as a non-executive director (usually as MD).
His business development skills drives him to naturally seek new opportunities and to up-sell within any account. He is further very competent to programme/project management complex and challenging projects when he had to deliver multiple diverse projects, even engaging and negotiations with international contracts and contractors to the benefit of the employer. Employment History 1980 to 2013Nico held various senior and executive positions within companies such as Telkom, Philips TDS, Grinaker Systems Technologies, Plessey Communications, Dimension Data, Arivia.com, Choice (Masana) Technologies, Country Manager, Ghana Venture Communications, Senior Project Manager for Fontanella and Principal Consultant for EON Consulting. Choice TechnologiesAs the General Manager: Service for Choice Technologies, they overachieved targets nationally by 15% on GP R4mil. Dimension DataAs the Lead Bid Manager for Dimension Data, Nico won the Jeremy Ord Sales Award 2002 – “Holds himself accountable for reaching priorities and getting results. Keeps commitments and gets the job done despite the odd and sees things through to completion.” His continuous rewards as financial advisor within Old Mutual are truly remarkable. Anglo PlatinumAt the Unki start-up mine Zimbabwe, he deployed a full laboratory, sample laboratory, weighbridge and IT networks / VSAT and Anglo Platinum processes, i.e. CCLAS, SAP integrated backhauled with global links like Brazil and London. Full power reticulations inclusive of alternating and clean power sources.
Nico worked on the upgrade of a Babylon and Body scanners project at all of Anglo’s smelters, concentrators and refineries. This project had touch points on numerous other projects making dialogue with other team’s imperative, across multiple reporting lines.
Nico successfully delivered an upgrade of a legacy Time and Attendance Technical and Operational upgrade system/s for Anglo Platinum. The new system complies with stringent HR, SAP and technology refresh solutions, applications & interfaces, since it operates on both Industrial and Commercial IT networks (WANs).
Nico engineered the building, deployment and commissioning of a fully functional test facility with Blue Line “”old”” and BES/SQUBE “”new”” equipment. At the test facility developers and architects were developing the source-codes, beta and final software integration and consolidation of complex software processes, including integration into SAP. Over and above the existing system functionality, 40% of the additional user system requirements as established during user workshops, currently in use as industry standard functionality in the mining environment. Nico championed the complete process and project. FontanellaHe consulted and offered project management services to Neotel on a strategic mega-project for Transnet Capital Projects. Transnet pipelines, formerly known as Petronet, the custodian of the country’s strategic pipeline assets, service two key industries (fuel and gas) by transporting petroleum and gas products over varying distances. Their main trunk line was successfully commissioned in January 2012 and delivered 348 million litres of diesel in its first three months of operation. Three additional pipelines were commissioned in the northern network during the first quarter of 2011/12 and are performing well. Nico set up a network utilising Cisco Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical fibre networks technology to control the block values at the different pump stations, together with an Asynchronous Transmissions Network with a full rollout of Carrier equipment, Towers, Racks, Cisco switches on a MPLS platform utilising grid power, UPS and batteries. EON ConsultingNico worked with EON Consulting as a Principal Consultant to Eskom Group Capital Division to analyze and embed Construction Industry Institute (USA) best practices and Independent Project Academy Institute (USA) value improvement fundamentals into Eskom’s project management life cycle. This is a crucial part of Eskom’s mission to be amongst the top 5 utility providers in the world. Africa Business Development and Programme / Project ManagementHis assignments with leading companies in Africa, most notably in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Ghana, have given Nico valuable experience. Significant achievements include the following:
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