Ria Wiid
Profile
Ria started her career in the Technology Planning Department of one of the top 5 banks in Johannesburg. After a full-time MBA she joined Olivetti Africa, where she later established and managed the direct selling business unit, Olivetti Direct. This was pre-Dell and at the time one of the first companies to sell computers directly to businesses in the South African market. During her time at Olivetti she lived in Milan where she participated in the development of collateral for the Olivetti Open System Architecture offer together with representatives from other subsidiaries across the world. Thereafter she setup and ran Watermark Risk Management Services, a company that provided risk survey, inventory and valuation services to South African Insurers. Before leaving South Africa to move to Athens she spent two years consulting in project management with the Xpert Group.
Experience
Ria's industry experience includes Information Technology and Financial Services. She has extensive experience in Strategic Marketing, Direct Marketing, Strategy Planning, Change Management, Customer Relationship Management and Process Mapping. She has experience in several business start-ups and during her time with Watermark she commissioned and managed the development of an innovative online, real-time solution allowing Insurers to access and update information about their customer's home contents inventory.
While at Xpert she facilitated the project of developing a Return Path Online Retail application for Multichoice, the largest digital satellite television provider in Africa. Prior to relocating to Ireland she took a two year sabbatical while she and her family lived in the beautiful Athens suburb of Dionysos. In the summer of 2002 she relocated to Ireland where she was one of the founder members of Fidentia-Norwalk.
Ria is also a founder member of the Tamhnach Foundation (www.tamhnach.org) which aims to provide a place of quiet and council for busy people.
Qualifications
Ria received her BA degree at Rand African University and her MBA degree from the University of the Witwatersrand Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Interests
When I moved to Europe I started recording my experiences of settling into new places and encountering different cultures in a monthly newsletter. This newsletter has since grown into a regular communication to friends and acquaintances all over the world. Who knows, this may still be turned into a book. In my spare time I like to walk, ski, read and travel.
Contact Ria Wiid
Email: ria.wiid@fullstream.ie
Contact Number: +353 (0) 85 1583 705