The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) on Wednesday announced the appointment of its new CEO. He is Humbulani Mudau, previously Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) chief director space science and technology. He is Sansa’s third CEO (the agency was created in 2010) and will take up his new post on April 1.

For the past year, the agency has been led by an acting CEO, Andiswa Mlisa. She took up that role following the departure of Sansa’s previous CEO, Dr Val Munsami.

Mudau has more than 20 years’ experience in the space sector, in both its technical and administrative aspects. In particular, he has experience in Earth observation and remote sensing systems, geospatial applications and space technology development. His experience includes serving as a senior scientific representative at the international Group for Earth Observation secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. In that role, he developed the concept of the African Group on Earth Observations (usually referred to as AfriGEO).

In the DSI post that he has just vacated, Mudau was responsible for the implementation of the Department’s Ten Year Innovation Plan. This includes the National Space Strategy and the South African Earth Observation Strategy.

He holds a Master's degree in Satellite Remote Sensing from the University of Paris VI (which merged with the Sorbonne University in 2018), a BSc Honours degree in Environmental Management and Geospatial Sciences from the University of Johannesburg, and a BSc degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Venda. He also holds a Certificate in Remote Sensing from the University of Johannesburg.

“Mr Mudau has vast experience in intergovernmental, interagency, regional, global and international space diplomacy while lobbying on policy issues and resource mobilisation for national and international projects,” affirmed Sansa. “Over the years, he has led at executive level, showcasing his robust and concrete capabilities in project designing, implementing and evaluating international projects with diverse stakeholders.”

The agency also pointed out that his appointment takes place at the start of an “exciting period” for it, involving the development of the Space Infrastructure Hub and the new Deep Space Network node at Matjiesfontein, in the Western Cape province.