Johannesburg, South Africa – BIMCommUNITY.Africa, the community for Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Africa, announces the appointment of Richard Smedley-Williams as one of three new Executive Directors, appointed to support the growing organisation in 2023 and beyond. With over two decades of experience in the Autodesk environment, Richard is a well-respected industry figure who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to BIMCommUNITY. Richard joins new appointments, Rob Thane (Lyt Architects) and Marius Bierman (Murray and Dickson).

“We are excited to have Richard, Rob and Marius join us as new Executive Directors. Each of them bring varying perspectives and valuable industry experience to our community and to our board. We’re seeing greater acceptance of the concept of BIM as well as its implementation and we look forward to their contribution in helping us Raise the BIM tide.” Angela Lang, Executive Director.

As an advocate of technology and its role as an enabler for organisations, Richard has held various Board roles, including a Non-Executive Director of the South African Institute of Mechanical Engineers (SAIMechE) Technology Olympiad and COO of the organization in the late 2000’s. He has also been focused on building his own business, Baker Baynes – an organisation geared to solve their customers’ problems through digital transformation. With the alignment of the industries that Baker Baynes serves in Build, Infrastructure, Process Energy, Mining and Manufacturing, Smedley-Williams is well positioned to contribute to the development of BIMCommUNITY.Africa.

“I believe the role of any non-profit industry-based organisation is to add value to its ecosystem and develop and uphold industry standards,” said Richard. “Given our environment, I have a responsibility to the industry to raise awareness around creating BIM capability and capacity in South Africa. This is an exciting time when new careers are evolving that are BIM-dedicated roles. Built Environment practices’ skills and competencies will start to look different in the very near future as BIM becomes an adopted practice.”

In his new role at BIMCommUNITY.Africa, Richard will be responsible for helping to drive the organisation’s mission of advancing BIM in Africa, including a fiduciary role. He sees his contribution to BIMCommUNITY.Africa as helping to raise awareness around creating BIM capability and capacity in South Africa.

“I am honored to be joining BIMCommUNITY.Africa and I look forward to working with the team to continue to grow the organisation and advance BIM in Africa,” said Richard.

About BIMCommUNITY:

BIMCommUNITY.Africa is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Africa. With a focus on education and collaboration, BIMCommUNITY.Africa works to promote the adoption of BIM by professionals, organizations, and governments in the Built Environment across the African continent. Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, BIMcommUNITY.Africa believes that every member, every effort, every initiative regardless of size must help to improve the environment for every BIM practitioner.

For more information about BIMCommUNITY.Africa and its mission, visit https://www.bimcommunity.africa/what-we-do.

About Baker Baynes

Baker Baynes is a BB-BEE Level 1, niche consulting company, representing leading technology brands, solving customer problems through digital transformation.

 For more information on Baker Baynes, visit https://bakerbaynes.com/

Contact:

Amanda Perry

Head of Marketing

Baker Baynes

amanda@bakerbaynes.com

+27 67 414 7962