Dr Willem Barnard- Organizational Development in the Information Age

The development of an organization is a complex process: as a continuously changing organism, it is confined to a structure created in a continuously changing environment. This talk aims to give a broad and philosophical overview of the essential aspects of such an organism: the environment (legalities, paradigms and algorithms); the people in the organisation, planning for the future making use of opportunities and threats in uncertainty; and the structural aspects ensuring a proper fit for the organisation. Dr Willem Barnard obtained a DSc at the University of Pretoria in 1977. From 1969 – 1991 he had several positions in engineering, research and management in high technology sectors. In 1992 he became the managing director for Dorbyl. In 1994 he was appointed the Chief Executive Officer for KWV and held that position until 2007.
Since then he is the Executive Chair for Vastech. Dr Barnard served on numerous boards and played a major role in establishing the importance of systems engineering and other technological capabilities for South Africa.