Ali Faramawy, vice-president of Microsoft Europe; Middle East and Africa (EMEA), says: The appointment of Pfungwa Serima marks another chapter in the history of Microsoft SA. After two years as director of the services group, he is ready to take on this new challenge. I have great faith in Pfungwa driving Microsofts business forward, as we prepare to launch exciting new versions of our flagship products, and continue to develop the local software economy.
 
Serima replaces Gordon Frazer, who has been promoted to take on the role of MD of Microsoft in the UK, one of Microsofts largest and leading markets in the world. The change is effective from 1 August.
 
Says Serima: I feel privileged to have been chosen to take on this exciting opportunity. In my time at Microsoft I have realised what a talented team there is in SA and I look forward to being able to steer this ship further into new possibilities.
 
Serima joined Microsoft in 2004 from Accenture, and has grown the local services team to be a significant role-player in supporting Microsofts customers and partners with world-class consulting and technology services. In addition, he has played a significant role in establishing and managing the first Microsoft Graduate Academy, an initiative which aims to grow IT skills in SA through learnerships.
 
Our mission in SA is to make a tangible contribution to our local software economy that is empowering, inclusive and highly skilled. We seek to do this through increasing levels of innovation and developing a pool of highly skilled resources, adds Serima.