With a career spanning more than three decades in the industry, Neville Naaidoo started out as a junior computer operator at MCS in 1971. Today, he is an executive director and business development manager at Datacentrix – and one of the finalists in the IT Personality of the Year awards.

In 1995, he took a break from employment to start LAN Graphix, which was later bought out by Datacentrix. One of the company`s mandates was to ensure the advancement of previously disadvantaged individuals through industry-recognised qualifications in the computer industry.

Naaidoo is the former national chairman of the Black IT Forum (BITF) and says his tenure at the helm of the organisation focused on growing the involvement of previously disadvantaged people in an industry that is one of the most pivotal to South Africa`s economy.