Our Team

The Naledi3d Factory consists of a small but dedicated team of professionals.  However, a team is made up of individuals and each person is unique and special in their own right. 

So, this is who we really are…


Dave Lockwood
C:\Users\New\Desktop\Daves pictures\Dave6_sm.jpgDave founded the Naledi3d Factory in 2000. He holds an MSc in Transportation Engineering and BA (Hons.) Geography and has over twenty five years’ experience in the ICT field. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Transport, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, is a Senior Member of the Association of Computer Mechanics as well as the Computer Society of South Africa.

He worked at CSIR for almost 20 years. During his time as co--Director of the CSIR VR Centre from 1998 to 2000, his passion for VR grew after starting to develop his ideas on how powerful VR could be for training and education in Africa - and especially its’ potential for the development of our poorer communities – thinking that was unique world-wide at the time.

Dave describes himself as a “social entrepreneur”.  He rails against the still prevalent “industrial paradigm” that still seems to dominate our economy and dreams of the day when a true “knowledge-based society” comes into its own.

However, he has never lost his sense of humour and can often be heard laughing uproariously from his office.

 

 



Nomthi Radebe
fotolia_992430.jpg Nomthi has been with us since 2006 and studied at the Tshwane University of Technology, Nomthi holds a National Diploma in ICT. Never one to slow down, Nomthi is currently studying BA Visual Communication Design at the prestigious Open Window School of Visual Communication.  She is our most experienced VR developer and brings a combination of artistic and technical skills to the table are hard to beat.

Nomthi has been blessed with a beautiful singing voice and can often be overheard singing softly (and occasionally not so softly) to herself as she works.

 

Ofentse Dire
fotolia_992430.jpgOfentse (or Dr Dire as he is affectionately known) studied Information Technology at Tshwane University of Technology, specializing in Multimedia design, Multimedia Programming and Software Development.  Always the snappy dresser (with a fondness for colourful trendy shoes) he displays a creativity and attention to detail in his work that is hard to match. Ofentse is one of our star VR Developers, creating and programming content for interactive 3D simulations.

As he says: “I thought Virtual Reality was something out of Science Fiction movies until I started working at the Naledi3d Factory as an intern in 2007.  Now I realize that education and training through interactive visual media is the future…”

 

Henri Mbata
fotolia_992430.jpgHenri studied software development at the Tshwane University of Technology.  Before joining the Naledi3d Factory in 2008 Henri worked at the Centre for Creative Technologies in Pretoria where he created highly detailed 3D models for the platinum mining industry. 

In our industry low-polygon modelling is essential to keep real-time interactive simulations as small as possible.  This requires particular skills that Henri has honed over time.

However, there’s much more to our star modeller.  As a bachelor Henri has become quite a dab hand at cooking and he enjoys (in no particular order) good weather, good music and being outside in nature.

 

Bernd Oellermann
fotolia_992430.jpgBernd has been active in the ICT field for nearly twenty years. He holds a B.Sc. degree (Physics). Bernd is our project manager and plays a significant role in system design, integration and story line development.  With a keen eye for detail there’s not much he misses – not that anybody in the team would dare try! Bernd has been with Naledi3d on a part-time basis since 2002.

Bernd is also an accomplished trumpet player and has his own brass quintet.  Something that not many people know about Bernd is that he is an avid movie soundtrack buff – he only sings in the car though!

 


Erik Kruger
fotolia_992430.jpgErik holds both a B.Com degree and a National Certificate in Visual Design from the Open Window Academy. This means he splits his time at the Naledi3d Factory between business development and VR simulation development.  Erik has also been working for the company on a part-time basis since 2002.Before joining us, Erik worked at the DTI, both here in Pretoria, as well as the SA Trade Mission in Brussels.

Erik is particularly passionate about history and can, if given half a chance, spend hours exploring historical sites.  His dream is to one day (hopefully sooner rather later) show off South Africa’s rich cultural heritage in VR!