04 May 2023

Vertiv has announced the appointment of a new managing director for Africa.

Vertiv has promoted Wojtek Piorko with immediate effect, from his previous position as South East Africa regional director. The role was previously held by Pierre Havenga, who will be leaving Vertiv at the end of June after 12 years as strategic leader in the region.

“Wojtek joined the Middle East and Africa (MEA) team eight years ago, and during that time has gained experience in various different roles and regions, excelling in each and every challenge. I have been able to rely on him completely and no task has ever been too great or too challenging,” said Havenga. “Wojtek has many strong leadership attributes and we applaud his focus on people. It is with great pleasure that I hand the baton to him to drive Vertiv’s Africa business to the next level.”

As managing director for Vertiv Africa, Piorko will drive business growth and market penetration, as well as orders, revenue, and profitability targets. He will manage, coordinate, and optimise the commercial activity within the region, balancing the entire portfolio to increase customer satisfaction within Africa, while implementing the go-to-market strategy in coordination with the various functional leaders.

Piorko will provide regional leadership to the sales, service, operations, and technical solutions teams, as well as to finance, HR, IT, legal and marketing, to engender a cohesive Africa team and deliver on Vertiv’s ambitions in the region.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank Pierre for his mentorship, leadership, and dedication to our customers in Africa. Under his guidance, I have learned a lot and we as a team have made impressive business and talent progressions in a quickly developing and strategically valuable region,” said Piorko. “Moving forward, I will continue to elevate our work in Africa and look for new ways to deliver the highest level of customer satisfaction whilst also nurturing the best talent within our business.”

“We are grateful for Pierre’s tireless dedication, energy, and commitment, and for his role in driving the development of business and talent. In turn, we wish Wojtek every success in his new responsibilities. I am confident that with his previous experience in Africa, combined with his long-term success over the years, Wojtek will continue to excel in his new role,” said Karsten Winther, Vertiv president, EMEA.