South Africa – Minnesota Business Council

Creating Partnerships between South Africa and Minnesota

South Africa – Minnesota Business Council random header image

Willem Ellis

Willem Ellis Mr. Willem Ellis is the President and founder of the South Africa-Minnesota Business Council. The SAMN Business Council’s objective is to increase economic activity including bi-lateral trade and investments between South Africa and the State of Minnesota.Willem is a serial entrepreneur and founded his first high-tech venture in South Africa in 1986. ATIO Corporation is an engineering consulting firm, focused on IT and Telecommunications. He served as its CEO and Chairman from 1986 until 1997.Willem also founded Simco Projects in 1989 as a joint venture between ATIO and Siemens Ltd. He served as chairman of the board of this partnership until 1994 when ATIO acquired Siemens’ share. In 1997 ATIO entered the US market with its Interaction Manager Software product and he accepted a position as CEO of ATIO USA.In April 2000, after a successful merger and private placement, the company adopted the name Lightning Rod Software, and was listed on the NASDAQ small cap market. Willem negotiated an agreement and licensed the company’s call center management product to Intel in 2001.

A highlight of Willem’s career occurred in 1994, when he was nominated by the Electronics Industry Federation of South Africa to lead the Telecommunications Division of the Independent Electoral Commission for the first democratic elections in the history of the country.

In November 2007 Willem negotiated a partnership between the State of Minnesota and the National Tooling Initiative of South Africa. The Intsimbi Partnership provides US capabilities and relationships for the development of a new generation of African business and technology leaders and workers who, by virtue of their technical and leadership skills, will transform the African economy by taking advantage of opportunities in a changing global market.

Willem attained his Bachelors of Science in Electronic Engineering from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. In addition, he has attended various management and entrepreneurial forums at local and international colleges.

Married 25 years, Willem and his wife Matilda have three children (Rozaane, Francois, and Willem Jr). The family spends their time together in activities that include camping, cycling, playing golf, and tennis.