Parker joined Bizcommunity after a successful stint at African Lakes Africa Online in Nairobi, which he joined after several years as a founding director of iafrica.com.
He has spent his entire life in media, across print and digital, starting out as a reporter on the erstwhile Evening Post in Port Elizabeth.
He moved through editorial hierarchies on the Cape Argus and Cape Times before transferring to management positions culminating in running the stable of Sunday Times products for the then Times Media in Johannesburg.
He chose to leave print to pursue a digital career in 1996, which eventually saw him join Bizcommunity when the company consisted of about 10 employees.
He leaves a company that had one vertical community, when he joined, to today's 26, including a significant footprint across Africa and more than 30 staff members.
A sense of achievement
"There have been highs and lows, elation and regret, successes and missed opportunities. But I leave with a sense of achievement. Bizcommunity is an indelible brand which has left its positive mark on many of its clients through its commitment to make their association work," he said, making his announcement.
"It has tirelessly created new content, expert content, new product features, and combined products to create winning communications suites for clients. Besides building the largest representative database of management in South Africa and fulfilling their reading requirements, it has grown to dominate its various markets and is the leading B2B digital brand in South Africa today. I leave proud to have been associated with a publishing phenomenon in South Africa," he concluded.
Chairman, Chris Moerdyk, himself a media veteran in South Africa said: "Robin Parker has contributed considerably to online and journalism know-how. He has been a tireless defender of editorial integrity and independence, which has set the high standard to which Bizcommunity subscribes. It has been a pleasure for me to work with someone from my own background and I shall dearly miss swapping stories with him about the old days of newspapers. Robin also understood very clearly the role of online publishing in this modern era. The board joins me in thanking him for his contribution. "
Company founder, Andre Rademan, added: "Bizcommunity would like to thank Robin Parker for growing the company from strength-to-strength. Robin has assembled a team of dynamic and passionate individuals at Bizcommunity over the last seven years. He leaves us well placed to continue with our mission to grow thriving business communities in Africa. We wish him every success in his future ventures."
Parker will be pursuing local and international projects in partnerships in the future.
