International legal, professional and fund services group Maitland has appointed Dr Tim Brown, a former managing director of Aqute Business Intelligence, as head of information technology

International legal, professional and fund services group Maitland has appointed Dr Tim Brown, a former managing director of Aqute Business Intelligence, as head of information technology for its worldwide operations, based in Maitland's Cape Town office.

Maitland has provided independent third-party outsourced fund administration for more than 10 years, operating a global fund administration platform from Cape Town with dedicated client support from its network of offices in centres including London, Luxembourg and Dublin.

'Information technology enables seamless service delivery and communication, making the geographic location irrelevant,' Brown says. 'South Africa is therefore emerging as a leading technological jurisdiction.

'Other positive factors such as an aligned time zone and a common language make South Africa well placed to service the UK and European fund management industry, but the primary advantage is the availability of skilled resources and a substantially lower-cost operating environment.'

Managing director Steve Georgala says: 'Maitland has worked hard at the connection between IT and its business solutions. Technology is pervasive in the contemporary workplace and all managers need to gain a deeper understanding of IT as a strategic management tool.'

Maitland was founded as a law firm and trust company in Luxembourg in 1976 and now has more than 560 employees, providing legal, fiduciary, asset management and fund administration services from offices in London, Paris, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Cayman Islands, Dublin, Geneva, the Isle of Man, British Virgin Islands, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, administering some USD70bn in assets on a direct or fiduciary basis on behalf of international clients and fund managers.

Maitland's fund services division provides asset management administration and reporting solutions covering front, middle and back-office functions. The front-office system is fully integrated to the back office and accessed by clients directly. The firm uses SunGard's front office system, Decalog, and its back-office system, InvestOne.