New CEO for BPeSA National announced

Gareth Pritchard has been named as the interim CEO of BPeSA, the National BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) / contact centre body for South Africa.

Pritchard will fill the role of CEO for both the National and Western Cape bodies.

The BPO & Offshoring sector in South Africa is a major economic driver for the country and according to analysts Frost and Sullivan is expected to generate in the region of 40,000 jobs through foreign investment by 2015.

“I am excited about this opportunity, as an industry we are strongest when working together and I look forward to engaging more closely with the other provinces going forward,” says Pritchard.

South Africa had a break out year in 2012; winning Offshoring Destination of the Year at the recent National Outsourcing Association Awards in the UK. The Award followed on the back of major investment in 2012 during which three global BPO operators, WNS, Capita and Serco set up service centres in Cape Town.

According to Mark Harris Chairman of BPeSA National, Pritchard is the ideal choice for the role. “Since taking on the role of CEO of BPeSA Western Cape, Gareth has played an important part in growing the BPO footprint of the country. I look forward to working alongside him in helping to make South Africa a global Offshoring destination of choice.”

“I am excited about the future of the sector in South Africa. During the last twelve months we have seen 6,500 offshore jobs created in the province, making the sector a key job creator for the region,” says Sizwe Mbanjwa, General Manager at Trade and Investment Kwazulu-Natal.

“In the past the various local offices of BPeSA have often operated in isolation, but I believe with Gareth at the helm, the industry will come together to provide a unified front that will benefit the country as a whole.”

“In my view BPeSA has made a very wise choice in Gareth Pritchard to take the interim reins of its national organisation. His mix of industry experience having worked for a vendor (Teleperformance) and from the enterprise side at Lufthansa has been invaluable in developing his perspective on what South Africa’s contact centre and BPO space needs to succeed,” says Peter Ryan, Global Practice Leader for Ovum’s Outsourced Services Team. “I believe that Gareth’s time running BPeSA Western Cape has been a true ‘tour-de-force’, and truly been one of the reasons why South Africa has re-established itself on the global contact centre scene. I have no doubt that as CEO of BPeSA’s national wing, this success will be replicated”.