The Contact Centre Association of Zimbabwe (CCAZ) has appointed BancABC chief executive Dr Lance Mambondiani as its president.
Dr Lance is a seasoned banker, having worked as an executive for regional and international financial institutions.
He takes over from DHL Zimbabwe managing director Jeff Phiri.
The CCAZ was founded in 2010 to cater for contact centre, customer service professionals and companies. It has expanded to become the leading body driving the growth of Zimbabwe’s contact centre and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
Speaking on his appointment, Dr Mambondiani said:
“This appointment is a moment of personal honour for me, but also of deep personal responsibility.
“There is perhaps no bigger contributor to the success of contemporary businesses than great customer service. The important role of the CCAZ is highlighted by the fact that service-centric strategies now represent an important aspect of firms’ efforts towards enhancing overall revenue and profit, customer acquisition and retention, and competitive differentiation.
“I sincerely believe that delivering exceptional customer service should be the central aim of any organization in Zimbabwe.”
Other new board members include Marjorie Madamombe from NMBZ who comes in as vice president; Patricia Mutyavaviri from ZIMNAT who will be in charge of membership & events; Hazel Chitare from Old Mutual who will head HR & Admin; Tichaona Gandanhamo from Ecobank in charge of finance & sponsorship; Otis Makahamadze from Omni Contact who will head BPO & Contact Centre Industry Development; Fungai Chimwamurombe from Zenas Legal Practice in charge of legal counsel, and Velile Dube from ZimTrade who comes in as Southern Region Chairman.
CCAZ secretary general Rinos Mautsa said the diversity of skills in the new board will drive the organization into the future.
“The new board comes with a rich diversity of skills from the banking, insurance, contact centre and legal sectors, and we have full confidence that they will take the CCAZ to that next level,” he said.
He also thanked the previous board for their role in the development of the CCAZ.
“I would like to pay tribute to the very important and exceptional role played by the outgoing board which came into being 10 years ago.
“They were instrumental in some of the key growth aspects of the sectors. Official numbers show that at least 3 800 are directly employed in the BPO and contact centre space in Zimbabwe; in-house contact centres for internal customer support are more prevalent; a total number of 36 contact centres were set up since 2010.”
Outgoing president Jeff Phiri said while contributing to the CCAZ he ahd also drawn significant lessons.
“I have been privileged to have had the opportunity to serve this organization for the past 2 years. My time here has been fulfilling, and have also given me the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the workings of the contact centre and BPO industry,” he said.