MEET THE TEAM
Andre Zietsman
Chief Executive Officer C.E.O
Andre has been involved in the construction industry for over 35 years. From a Workshop Manager with Tarphalt Paving (Pvt) Ltd in the 90’s, Andre moved into bulk bitumen transport followed by cross-border passenger transport and after that, armored cash-in-transit transport. The sky was the limit and in 2012 Andre embarked on his biggest project yet when he opened the doors to Bitumen World (Pvt) Ltd. Although blacktop surfacing was the company’s specialty, Andre’s vision was far greater and over the years he has developed the company into one of the country’s leading civil engineering contractors. This, coupled with a drive to obtain various ISO certifications, has developed Bitumen World (Pvt) Ltd into a world-class organization who’s guiding principals have always been Teamwork, Innovation, Professionalism, Efficiency and Customer Focus – Andre’s vision has become a true reality.
Duncan Smith
Contracts Director
Duncan has over 40 years experience within the construction industry in Zimbabwe with almost 30 of those years being with Bitumen Construction Services (Pvt) Ltd of which he spent the last 6 of those 30 years as Managing Director.
During the course of his career with Bitcon he held various posts within the company notably Bulawayo Manager, Botswana Manager, General Manager (Construction) based in Harare and finally Managing Director.
Cuthbert Gonhovi
Surfacing Manager
The Surfacing Manager, Cuthbert has over 37 years experience within the construction industry, 25 years of which were with Bitcon. At Bitcon Cuthbert was in charge of the execution of all surfacing operations and has been involved in surfacing and resealing hundreds of kilometers of Zimbabwean roads over the course of his career.
Devilious Sibanda
Human Resources Manager
Devilious brings a wealth of experience in the construction industry to the post of Human Resources Manager. His career spans some 36years in the industry and includes posts such as Principal Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer within the Ministry of Transport as well as Finance and Administration Manager for Bitumen Construction Services (Pvt) Ltd and latterly as Group Finance Director for Kuchi Holdings (Pvt) Ltd.
Panganai Mataure
Operations Manager - Southern Region
Panganai is a qualified engineer with extensive experience in blacktop surfacing having worked for Bitumen Construction Services P/L for 26 years in various posts as well as for MA Kharafi on an airport project in Gambia and Teichman Plant Hire in Zambia.
Paul Smith
Genral Manager - Plant & Maintenance
Paul is a qualified Motor Mechanic/Diesel Fitter with over 32 years experience working in the transport and construction sectors. Having worked his way up from apprentice to mechanic to Workshop Manager and now General Manager for Plant & Maintenance, Paul brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his post at Bitumen World.
Chris Seager
Operations Manager - Northern Region
Chris’ career in the construction and mining industries spans 45 years, including 6 years as an engineer with the Ministry of Roads. When it comes to construction projects and blacktop surfacing, his experience and expertise is remarkable, as well as his wealth of knowledge on the day to day workings within the industry.
Grant Brebner
Asphalt Plant Manager
Grant’s field of expertise encompasses the administration, operation and maintenance of heavy machinery across various industries and spans an excess of 32 years. His knowledge of, and ability to work safely with heavy machinery makes him the ideal person to oversee and manage all aspects of Bitumen World’s asphalt and crushing and screening plants, their ongoing maintenance and consistent daily output of high quality products.
Tongai Chitiyo
S.H.E.Q Manager
Tongai is a professionally qualified SHEQ Manager with over 25 years of experience working in the construction and mining sectors in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Nambia. His excellent knowledge on the development and implementation of ISO management systems (ISO9001:2015, ISO14001:2015 and ISO45001:2018) is top notch. He assisted Bitumen World on its attainment of the three ISO management systems in addition to three other organizations he previously worked for. He has qualified himself with the University of South Africa (UNISA) with a National Diploma in Safety Management and a B Tech in Safety Management with the same University. In addition, he has several certificates from reputable institutions namely NOSA, NSSA etc. An award winner for 2019 - National Quality Award Winner-Individual category-2019 awarded by Standards Association of Zimbabwe.
Jim Munro
Laboratory Manager
Jim’s career spans 50 years within both the local and sub-Saharan regions, the bulk of which has been spent with Ascon Geotechnical Laboratory Services handling all aspects of laboratory testing and reporting on an array of projects including roads, airports, buildings and industrial developments to name a few. His experience and attention to detail ensures that Bitumen World projects meet with the required standard of quality.
Asif Kassim
Finance Manager
Asif Kassim grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe and completed his tertiary education at De Montfort University in the UK. Asif then went on to complete his Chartered Accountancy and qualified as Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA) in 2015. Throughout his time in the UK Asif has worked across a wide variety of industries and organisations including the public sector, FTSE100 company’s in retail as well as small technology start-ups in a finance capacity. Asif joined the company in his first senior management role in Oct 2019.
Margie Zietsman
Chief Finance Officer
Margie joined the company in May 2020 and brings a wealth of experience to the financial management of the company, with a strong business acumen from her 30 years of work experience and having worked in the mining and civil engineering industry for the past 20 years. Her career has included directorships of JRG Zimbabwe, Pezulu Ranches Pvt Ltd & Drillseek Minerals Pvt Ltd. Finance Director at JRG Zimbabwe being her previous position.
Bill Till
Operation Manager Zimbabwe
Bill has been involved in the construction and mining industries in Zimbabwe and overseas for the past 33 years. During this period, he has owned and operated his own civil and building construction company and has held senior management positions in three prominent Zimbabwean businesses active in the construction and open cast mining sectors.
Joshua Tapambgwa
Finance Executive (Africa)
Joshua Tapambgwa, a Chartered Accountant, completed his articles with Arthur Young and Company in Harare. He has extensive experience across a variety of industries including: Nedlaw Management Services, South African Breweries- Beer Division, Lonrho Mining Limited, Cafca Limited-cable manufacturer and was the former C.E.O of Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe. Mr Tapambgwa has joined our team as the Finance Executive (Africa) and will work closely with C.E.O Andre Zietsman to oversee the Finance Department. We look forward to his guidance in the continuing growth and success of Bitumen World.