By Mark Davison – After months of speculation, Alviva Holdings – parent company of Tarsus Distribution – has announced a new, permanent CEO for one of South Africa’s oldest and leading distributors.
Thibault Dousson, currently director of Lenovo’s Solution and Services Group META – based in Dubai and managing more than 70 countries in the region – will take up the position on 18 January.
Dousson’s appointment comes following the shock departure of Emile Burger as CEO of Tarsus in July after little more than a year at the helm. Emmanouil Revmatas, who joined Tarsus as GM in October 2025, took over as interim CEO.
Dousson is no stranger to the South African market, having served as director and country GM of the local Lenovo office for six years before taking up the Dubai position. Prior to that, he held several leadership positions at HP South Africa culminating in his appointment as its country GM and MD. His experience spans enterprise sales, channel development, business strategy, P&L management, and leadership across Africa and the Middle East.
“Thibault has worked in technology across Africa, the Middle East and Türkiye for more than 20 years,” says Pierre Spies, CEO of Alviva. “He ran HP South Africa as MD and then Lenovo Southern Africa as country GM. Most recently he led Lenovo’s Solutions and Services Group across more than 70 countries across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
“He is very familiar with what partners need from a distributor and with the demands on a business in a changing technology landscape,” Spies adds. “We have no doubt Thibault is the right person to lead Tarsus in its future development and further growth.”
Having established lasting relationships with many within the Alviva group during his tenure in South Africa, Dousson is enthusiastic about his new role.
“Tarsus is one of South Africa’s most successful and best-known distributors, and a key strategic player in the local market,” he says. “I am looking forward to guiding the company during this exciting period of growth and innovation.”