CTICC grabs top spot on Top500 Companies list

CTICC CEO, Julie-May Ellingson accepting the prestigious Top500 award.

CTICC chief executive officer, Julie-May Ellingson says the CTICC is honoured to have received this accolade in recognition of the CTICC’s efforts during 2014/15 financial year, which yielded the best financial, economic and social sustainability results in its 12-year history.

Economic sustainability

Despite the recent straitened economic outlook, the CTICC has created and sustained more than 91,000 direct and indirect jobs since its inception. In the past financial year, the CTICC contributed R3.4bn to GDP and R3.1bn to Regional GGP as well as R1.72bn to indirect household income. As a further measure of the CTICC’s alignment with the Top500’s criteria of social empowerment and development, R263m or 86% of the CTICC’s total procurement was from BBBEE companies, 28% from women-owned companies, 67% with SMMEs and 90% of all procurement was from locally based firms, Ellingson points out.

At the CTICC, we recognise that economic sustainability is only possible through a willingness to continually invest back into our product offering and infrastructure. And this is the reason we are expanding. The most notable infrastructure project has been the construction of CTICC East, which will be a significant extension of our existing facility, with a budget of R832m.

The CTICC expansion project will be the catalyst for the CTICC’s ongoing contribution to skills development in the city, province and country, making it an African trade and investment destination of choice. This is especially important in the light of the increased investment into the African continent positioning it as “next big thing” in business, notes Ellingson.

“The CTICC’s impressive financial performance over the past 12 years combined with its proven economic and social sustainability achievements, ongoing empowerment initiatives and internationally recognised management certification, are criteria, which the University of Cape Town uses, to select and measure performance in their awarding of the Top500 company status. The criteria are in line with the CTICC’s triple bottom line reporting, and we are absolutely honoured to be awarded the top position for the Exhibition and Conference Facilities category” Ellingson concludes.