Coetzee holds an MBA from Bond University, Australia, and has more than 20 years of experience in systems engineering, technology management, technology roadmapping, PLM, product development and futures research. He was tasked with the establishment of a mechatronics and micromanufacturing research unit at the CSIR, with a focus on mechatronics and robotics, automation and control, micro-manufacturing and microsystems, as well as medical devices and systems. Coetzee was also the project manager for the rapid development of CSIR ventilators that were developed to assist patients experiencing respiratory distress due to Covid-19 infection.

Expertise: Digital transformation, Industrial Internet of Things, Smart Factory Technologies (MES and MOM),  Blockchain applications in Manufacturing, Industrial artificial intelligence and machine learning,  Cloud services,  Industry 4.0 Maturity Assessments and Benchmarking, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Digital Twins, Mechatronics and Robotics, Smart Factory (Learning Factory),  Plant Simulation, Technology Management, Technology Roadmapping (T-maps), Innovation Management, Technology platforms, Design thinking, Systems engineering, Product development, Prototype development, Cost modelling, Industrialisation of products