Bill Venter steps down from Altron board

Bill Venter has stepped down from the board of directors of the company he founded 53 years ago.

Altron said on Tuesday that Venter, who founded the company in 1965, will step down as a nonexecutive director effective today, 31 July 2018.

Venter, 84, who led Altron for much of its history, founded Altron as Allied Electric, with a focus on designing and manufacturing semiconductor rectifier equipment, battery chargers, inverters, variable speed drives, DC motor controls, DC power supplies, electronic signal equipment and transformers. It also distributed components on behalf of French, US and UK principals and manufacturers.

“Shareholders are advised that Dr WP Venter, chairman emeritus and the founder of Altron 53 years ago, has taken the decision to retire as nonexecutive director of the Altron board,” the group said in a statement issued via the JSE. It said that Venter remains a significant shareholder.

Altron has undergone a major shift in strategic direction in recent years, selling its underperforming legacy industrial assets, which were housed under the Powertech stable, and refocusing on the ICT sector.

The group is now led by Mteto Nyati, a former country MD of Microsoft and a former CEO of MTN South Africa. Nyati took the reins last year from Venter’s son, Robbie, who remains on the board.  — © 2018 NewsCentral Media