Hi
I retired at the end of December 2024 and am now a Research Fellow at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria, after having served as a senior academic in the Department of Marketing and Retail Management at UNISA for more than 25 years. During the ten years prior to entering academia at UNISA, I was a trade representative for South Africa and served as a regional representative for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Cape Town, and then as a trade/foreign economic representative for South Africa at the Embassy in Vienna, Austria and the Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
I left the DTI to take up a lecturing position first at the Technikon SA (3 years) and then at UNISA (25 years), where I worked until my retirement in 2024. During my last five years at UNISA I oversaw the master’s and doctoral programme in the Department of Marketing and Retail Management. In addition, I was also the programme leader for short learning programmes in international marketing and digital marketing. My main area of interest is international marketing and trade. I have authored or co-authored 19 books in the field of marketing, as well as contributing to 31 other books. A further two books are due to be published soon.
In 2024 I completed a second Master’s degree (cum laude) which explores the role of trade metrics as tools in international market selection and entry.
At the end of 2024, I established the Centre for Industry Trade and Economic Research (CITER) with the aim undertaking trade, industry and economic research to encourage reindustrialisation in South Africa. I also run a successful portal called ExportHelp (www.exporthelp.co.za). Having been appointed as a Research Fellow at UNISA, I am continuing to publish research in the field of international marketing and trade. Additionally, I am further associated with the Institute of Marketing Management’s (IMM) Graduate School where I also assist with research. Ongoing examination and supervision of M&D dissertations and theses as well as reviewing academic journal articles ensures that I am kept up to date with current trends.
Cornelius (Neels) Bothma