AfriGIS Hires Helen Hulett as Chief Sustainability Officer: 4 Things to Know

AfriGIS has hired Helen Hulett as chief sustainability officer (CSO). Here are four things to know about the organization and Hulett's professional experience.

1. Business Overview: AfriGIS, founded in 1997, is based in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The company employs geospatial information scientists who manages and analyze African location datasets. The resulting information can "empower businesses to gain sharper insights into their operations, customers, and markets," AfriGIS asserts. We don't know if the organization has formulated a sustainability strategy for its own business.

2. Professional Experience: Chief Sustainability Officer Helen Hulett has nearly two decades of experience focused on water-, sustainability-, and business-related strategies. Previous roles include principal sustainability consultant at WSP Group Africa, and executive director at Talbot.

3. Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Priorities: At AfriGIS, Hulett plans to launch a "groundbreaking water security and climate change adaptation platform for Africa, aimed at unlocking private sector finance to address these pressing issues." The effort will involve leveraging AfriGIS’s geospatial capabilities and AI technologies to "build more robust, real-time models that will empower industries, financial sectors, and governments to make better-informed decisions," the company said.

4. Executive Perspectives: In a prepared statement, AfriGIS CEO Rochelle Mountany said: "Helen is a powerhouse in the field of sustainability, and we’re thrilled to have her join our team. Her extensive experience in water risk management and her forward-thinking approach to sustainability align perfectly with AfriGIS’s vision of using geospatial data and technology to address the most pressing challenges of our time. Helen’s leadership will be instrumental in driving AfriGIS’s commitment to sustainability and creating innovative solutions that unlock insights for our customers for true impact."

Added Hulett: “The current data collected on water security and climate change is invaluable, but to truly make an impact, we need to transition from static information to real-time, actionable insights,. I’m excited to be joining AfriGIS, as their advanced geospatial and AI capabilities will allow us to create more dynamic, forward-looking models that drive better decision-making. My experience has shown me how important it is to translate this data into the language of boardrooms and financial sectors, enabling the unlocking of capital for crucial water-related initiatives. Together with AfriGIS, I look forward to developing solutions that will help tackle Africa’s water challenges and secure a sustainable future."

Chief Sustainability Officers: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.