Mr Ananzi bows out

Mark Buwalda, managing director of Ananzi, South Africa’s first local search engine has resigned after working at the company for over 15 years.

Mark Buwalda, a pioneer of online search in South Africa, has resigned as Managing Director at Ananzi, the country’s first homegrown search engine. Mark has served the brand for over 15 years and the current owners for more than 11 years.

‚”It’s sad to leave a brand and a company that is so close to my heart‚”, says Mark, ‚”it has become so much part of my life‚”.

Mark will be pursuing other interests.

‚”We are sad to see Mark go but respect his decision‚” says Des Isaacs, CEO of Ananzi’s holding company Brabys. ‚”We would like to thank him and wish him well in his future endeavours‚”.

Mark Buwalda joined INet Bridge as a Business Unit Manager in 1999. He followed the product to Johnnic E-Ventures (now TML), the publishing house’s Internet unit at the time. Ananzi was sold to Brabys in 2002, and he was appointed Managing Director. Mark joined the Brabys board a few years later, and was responsible for all group online products, including the successful www.brabys.com.

‚”The Internet in South Africa has grown tremendously since the days that I entered this industry,‚” saysMark. ‚”We had no idea at the time what impact online would have in the world nor in South Africa.‚”

Not only did it live up to the expectation, it has grown far beyond that, he says. He is a founding member of the Digital Media Marketing Association (DMMA, previously the OPA – Online Publishing Association) and served on its board for two years.

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