Legal technology company, LexisNexis South Africa, has announced the imminent retirement of its long-term Managing Director, Billy Last, and the appointment of his successor, Videsha Proothveerajh.

Mr Last has decided to officially retire at the end of November 2019 after a 26-year tenure at its helm and 31 years in total at the company.

He said, “It has been my great pleasure to have spearheaded the evolution of LexisNexis from a publisher to that of a total solutions legal technology business and I am extremely proud of the company’s continued progress on this journey. I am delighted to hand over the baton but will still remain onboard as a senior advisor in the short term to ensure the company’s smooth transition to its new MD.”

LexisNexis has operated in South Africa for over 85 years and is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

Philippe Carillon, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) President for RELX, said, “I would like to warmly thank Billy for the many years of dedicated leadership and commitment he brought to our business. His professionalism, strategic vision, and strong and passionate advocacy to secure the best interests of LexisNexis South Africa will be greatly missed by all in the South African business and CEMEA region.”

He added that LexisNexis would remain in excellent hands with the appointment of its Ms Proothveerajh, who officially joined the business on 7 October 2019 and will take on her full-time role on 1 December 2019.

She is one of the country’s leading women in tech and has over 20 years of experience mainly gained in the ICT sector with companies such as EDS, Microsoft and Intel, which will serve LexisNexis extremely well as it continues to grow its position as the region’s leading legal technology company. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management from University of Natal Durban, and an MBA from University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Most recently she has served at Intel Corporation as General Manager, South Africa, for eight years and was responsible for multimillion-dollar revenue generation at this large enterprise. She has significant experience in the running of businesses within a multinational setting and has expertise in strategy, innovation, customer experience and technological solutions.