Resumé:
Alistair joined Eskom’s Research and Development Division, TRI, in the field of microprocessor hardware development, after graduating with an HNDT Elec Eng (LC) in 1984. Here, he moved up the ranks of that department, to a position of Principal Technician, after having developed numerous products that were widely utilised within both coal-fired and nuclear power stations within the Eskom framework.
In 1989, he left the Eskom fold and joined two other co-founders to establish a company called Binary Concepts, where he headed up the development and technical support side of the business, producing new product and defining concepts used in some of the first implementations of ruggedised PC’s in the industrial marketplace.
In March 1993, Alistair joined Power Controls as Technical Director, where he was responsible for the development of new products, greatly complementing their rapidly expanding product portfolio. He remained with Power Controls, through a partial and later complete acquisition by the locally listed company Q-Data. Q-Data later merged with Persetel to form the PQ Group which subsequently became a member of the international Comparex fold.
In 1998, he aligned with his long standing colleagues in a management buy-out to purchase the company back from Comparex. Shortly after the MBO, Power Controls merged with software group Minotaur Information Systems to form a new and more diversely talented company called VelocIT-e. Within VelocIT-e, he was placed in a position of Director R&D and was responsible for the development of electronic hardware, a great deal of which expanded the VelocIT-e product portfolio into the Electronic Commerce and Gaming arenas, primarily via the SmartCard medium.
During the merging of VelocIT-e into the NamITech fold, he was placed in the position of Technology Executive (Engineering division) where he was responsible for all electronic hardware and firmware developments within the group. He remained in this position until December 2003 when he decided to exit the corporate arena and move to the coast to form his own small electronic development company “Gadd’s Intelligent Tools”, allowing him to focus more on research and consultation.
Alistair has in excess of 27 years of experience in the digital electronics and microprocessor hardware and firmware development arenas. He has been involved in the design, development and research of proprietary hardware and embedded devices. His designs implement the use of the latest technologies to produce board level electronics designs from schematic through PCB artwork to product prototype, firmware development, pre-production and production designs, enclosure designs and product production “Data-Pac” generation.
Developed Products:
Card Readers:
Pension Payment Systems (SmartCard / Biometric)
Passive tagging systems
Access Control Systems (Mac-X)
Self Service Terminals
SmartCard based Logical Access control – prepaid systems
Card Redemption Machines
Custom ATM design (SmartCashier)
Large scale high speed graphic Public Displays
Work History:
GIT (Gadd's Intelligent Tools CC) 2003 - present
Owner
Electronic Design and Consultation.
Namitech Ltd. 2001 – 2003
Technology Executive (Engineering Division).
Electronic hardware and firmware developments.
VelocIT-e (Pty) Ltd 1998 - 2001
Director R&D
Electronic Research and Product Developments.
Power Controls (Pty) Ltd 1993 - 1998
Technical Director
New Product Developments.
Binary Concepts (Pty) Ltd. 1989 - 1993
Technical Director.
Electronic and Microprocessor Based Product Developments.
Eskom EID (Engineering Investigations Division). 1980 – 1989
Principal Technician.
Microprocessor Research Group.
Education:
Witwatersrand Technikon, Johannesburg. 1987
Dip Tech T5 (no thesis)
Digital and Microprocessor System Design.
Witwatersrand Technikon, Johannesburg. 1984
HNDT Elec Eng (L/C)
Digital Design.
Commercial Careers College, Salisbury, Rhodesia. 1976
AEB 'A' Levels
Maths, Physics, Biology.
Prince Edward School, Salisbury, Rhodesia. 1973
AEB 'M' Levels
Maths, Physics, Biology, Chemistry.
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