De Wet Bisschoff

What initially attracted De Wet Bisschoff to Accenture were its global reach and its mission to use cutting-edge technology to help clients achieve high performance.

He was also excited by the company’s reputation for investing in its people. And in all these respects, Bisschoff says, his expectations have been more than met. With a natural bent for things technological, Bisschoff is one of those lucky few who know from early on know the direction they want to take. He finished high school in 1986, then majored in computer science at the University of Port Elizabeth. Thereafter, he joined an insurance company, initially as a computer programmer and subsequently as a systems analyst, before moving to Accenture in 1994

Bisschoff’s strong grounding in technology provided a secure foundation from which to extend his horizons across a variety of industries. He says, “My career has been a long road of continuous learning—working in new industries, new technologies and for new clients. The big plus has been working with Accenture people who are invariably well qualified and professional.

He adds, “I like working across industries and for different clients, advising them on the technologies they can use to become high-performance businesses, and I help Accenture sell services. My job is to make sure that clients get what they pay for.”

During Bisschoff’s time at Accenture two particular client experiences stand out as having been especially satisfactory. The first was working with the Independent Electoral Commission in South Africa’s 1999 elections, about which he says, “We were able to use information technology to help support a successful and transparent election for the country.” The second was acting as strategic advisor for the National Census of 2001. “I derived great satisfaction in using management consulting and IT skills to make sure the census was well run,” he notes.

Bisschoff sees one of the big new challenges for businesses as redefining the role of chief information officers (CIOs). Traditionally CIOs have worked almost exclusively behind the scenes to support other business functions and control the information needs of the business. These days, according to Bisschoff, CIOs have to play a much more strategic role, using IT innovation to contribute to the bottom line: “The traditional CIO’s role of keeping backroom systems running has changed—CIOs now need to be part of senior management.”

In this area, Accenture’s role is to help CIOs with strategic advice on how to overcome these challenges. “We are one of the few companies with capabilities that straddle a wide range of key areas like example strategy, systems integration, outsourcing and management consulting,” he says.

Looking ahead, Bisschoff sees Accenture Technology Consulting Services moving increasingly into new areas like IT strategy and enterprise architecture, networks, security and service-oriented architecture, and also business intelligence.

Bisschoff is a family man who enjoys being at home with his wife, his daughter and son. While deriving pleasure from his koi pond, his idea of real relaxation is a weekend of fly-fishing at Dullstroom: “The peace and quiet that goes with it … the etiquette … and preserving the environment,” is how he explains his favourite pastime.

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