Windhoek
The Namibian Standards Institution’s (NSI) new CEO Chie Wasserfall was officially introduced to the organization’s staff in Windhoek on Tuesday by the Namibian Standards Council chairperson, Dr Martha Kandawa-Schulz.
Wasserfall is a Philippine-born Namibian who has been working in Namibia since 1990. She is an electronics engineer by profession with over 17 years’ management experience.
Prior to NSI she was the head of field services at Telecom Namibia, where she managed over 400 staff.
“It is an honour for me to lead and serve this institution. I also look forward to working with the Namibian Standards Council chaired by Dr Kandawa-Schulz, as well as with the Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development, Honourable Immanuel Ngatjizeko,” said Wasserfall.
She said that success does not come without hard work and commitment, adding that she believes the NSI staff under her leadership can take the institution to greater heights.
She said that standards is a new industry with plenty of potential and for this industry to grow it needs innovation.
She said that as Namibia becomes an industrialized nation, the demand for standards and conformity assessment services will increase. “Standards help determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the economy, the cost, quality and availability of products and services.”
Kandawa-Schulz welcomed Wasserfall to the NSI family and asked that she continue the legacy left by her predecessor, Riundja Othy Kaakunga, and to ensure that NSI meets its strategic goals.
Wasserfall will undertake a 90-day strategy assessment with senior management to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the institution. “As we look forward, we must zero in on what NSI can uniquely contribute to the economy. The opportunity ahead will require us to re-imagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a technologically driven economy. Let us focus on delivering stakeholder and customer centric services.”
The NSI was established in terms of the Standards Act, 2005 (Act No. 18 of 2005). The primary role of the NSI is to promote standardisation and quality assurance in industry, commerce and the public sector, with the aim to improve product quality, industrial efficiency and productivity, and to promote trade, so as to achieve optimum benefits for Namibia.