Mr Milcho Damianov, newly appointed Executive Director: Advancement, reported for duty on Monday, 2 September 2013, at the University of Johannesburg.
The appointment of Mr Damianov comes at an opportune time to complement the strategic direction of the institution which has positioned itself as an important player in the higher education arena, both locally and internationally.
“In Damianov, we have someone with the experience and the talent to facilitate the strengthening of crucial partnerships between UJ, our alumni, sister institutions, government and industry,” says Professor Tinyiko Maluleke the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Internationalisation, Advancement and Student Affairs.
Damianov, who is one of the first South Africans to graduate from the prestigious International Fundraising School at Indiana University in the United States, previously served as Director of Advancement at Cape Peninsula University of Technology; Director of Marketing, International Affairs and Development at City University, USA, at the Bulgaria Campus, General Manager Marketing and Corporate Affairs at The Playhouse Company in Durban, Director of Marketing and Development at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Executive Director of the Walter Sisulu Foundation and Chief Executive Officer of University of Swaziland Foundation.
In addition to his Master’s degree, Damianov also holds a postgraduate qualification in Marketing Management from the Institute of Marketing Management, South Africa. He has a vast knowledge of fundraising, marketing, project management, public and alumni relations as well as corporate communications. Damianov has extensive work experience at tertiary institutions in Europe and Southern Africa, and his skills have proven fundamental to the success of several universities and organisations.
In UJ, Damianov has found a caring, passionate and ambitious university that is eager to take its place in the deployment of research, science and technology in the quest to find solutions for humanity’s most pressing challenges.