Phil Hendricks, CSIR SERA Relationship Manager.

Mr Phil Hendricks, newly appointed as Executive Director of Strategic Relationship Management and Contract Research and Development at the CSIR, has been acting as the CSIR Relationship Manager for SERA since early in January this year. He has confirmed that he will continue in this role, sharing the responsibility with Prof Robin Crewe who has been the University of Pretoria Relationship Manager for SERA since 2003.

The two SERA Relationship Managers take responsibility for the day-to-day operations of SERA activities, including the implementation of the business plan, driving SERA activities and business opportunities, dealing with operational issues and effectively managing the Alliance investment in research projects and joint ventures.

Phil joined the CSIR in 1992 and has been the Director of the Transportek business unit and a member of the CSIR's Management Board for the past five years. He is responsible for the unit's strategic leadership and management, operations management and achievement of quantitative goals and CSIR wide projects. He holds engineering degrees from the University of Cape Town (GDE Eng Civil) and the University of California at Berkeley (M Eng Civil) and is the author and co-author of a number of transport-related research papers. Recent awards include the CSIR Top Achiever Award (1997), Research Implementation and Technology Transfer Award (1996/7 and 1994), Marketing Excellence in South Africa Award (1995/6), and the P Myburgh Asphalt Research Award (1995/6).

According to Phil, cooperation between the CSIR and the University of Pretoria has been significantly strengthened as a result of the Alliance activities, to the benefit of both organisations and the people involved. "We have seen exceptional results in a number of areas and I look forward, with Prof Robin Crewe, to seeing increasing levels of involvement in SERA initiatives from CSIR and UP, as well as other organisations", says Phil. He added that as an inclusive Alliance, SERA would actively seek cooperation from other TEIs and public and private partnerships in launching research initiatives.

For further information on SERA-related matters, email the Relationship Managers directly at Prof Robin Crewe or Phil Hendricks.