Jacobus van Niekerk

Most SMEs have more to work with than they think. The systems are there. The data exists. The team is capable. What's usually missing is someone who can see the full picture and make sense of it. That's the work. I embed at the executive level, without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire, and work with SME owners and CEOs who know their digital foundation needs attention but aren't sure where to begin. In practice, this means: Mapping the digital ecosystem and identifying where value is being l

Fractionals United is the largest global community for Fractional Leaders, designed to connect, develop and grow their skills and businesses. It offers a space for professionals to collaborate with peers, exchange ideas, and access resources to support their work. For companies, the community provides a straightforward way to find experienced Fractional Leaders who can help drive business growth.

Following the acquisition, I stayed on for six months to oversee the full integration and handover. The focus was continuity: transferring staff, client relationships, institutional knowledge, and all online systems to the incoming leadership team without disruption to service or culture. A clean handover, done properly.

I built Azapi from scratch and ran it for 18 years. The business grew alongside the SMEs it served, from basic web presence in the early 2000s through to complex, data-driven marketing ecosystems. The core of the work was always client outcomes. I led strategy workshops to help business owners get clear on their value proposition and growth goals, then translated that into digital strategies that delivered measurable results: SEO, SEM, PPC, social media, content, email marketing, and website optimisation,

In 1999, I joined Rothschild as part of the team building the group's first global intranet. Launched in 2000, it connected thousands of employees across one of the world's most complex financial institutions. Precision and collaboration were non-negotiable — this was infrastructure, not a website. From there, I took the lead on the first corporate websites for the Rothschild Group, covering multiple divisions and regions. These established the group's global online presence at a moment when the financial

Alongside Rothschild, I ran CATICS as an independent consultancy, taking on web projects across the US, UK, and South Africa. The work centred on accessibility, usability, and web standards, areas still being defined across the industry at the time. Clients included NASA and Stanford University (accessibility and information architecture at scale), NM Rothschild & Sons and The London Gold Fixing Company (brand precision, digital reliability), Cannon Communications, Clark & Parsia, Trek Travel, Bontrager,

Before the web took over, I was a graphic designer. This is where I developed my eye for visual communication, layout, and the relationship between design and audience, foundations that quietly underpinned everything digital that followed. Freelancing also gave me my first experience working directly with clients and turning a brief into something that actually worked.

My first professional role, working across sales, customer support, and marketing in the technology retail sector. It gave me an early, practical understanding of how technology products are positioned, sold, and supported, and sparked a curiosity about the intersection of technology and business that has driven everything since.

Transforming businesses and mindsets through innovation. Empowering organisations to craft and implement comprehensive innovation strategies that drive growth, ensure competitiveness, and enable success in the ever-evolving digital economy.

Graphic Design, Creative Art Direction