Free State Department of Health CIO Bandile Ntombela joins the list of IT leaders competing for the prestigious CIO of the Year title.
Bandile Ntombela has been nominated for the 2025 CIO Awards for his role as CIO at the Free State Department of Health.
Bandile has been CIO of the department since 2017, driving tech innovation in healthcare. Before this, he served as IT director at the Free State Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (2012 to 2017) and held roles as a business analyst and product manager at Nedbank Corporate.
He is among the nominees competing to take home one (or more) of the nine awards up for grabs at the annual “Oscars of IT” this year, including the CIO of the Year title.
His career began in academia as a junior lecturer at UJ (2007) before transitioning to IT with a business analyst role at Business Systems Group (BSG) in 2008.
Bandile holds a master’s in medical science and health informatics from UKZN, an MBA from Milpark Business School, and a postgraduate diploma in CIO Practice – combining technical expertise with strategic leadership in the public sector.
Following the success of the third annual CIO Awards in 2024, CIO South Africa continues to shine a spotlight on the finest in IT and their achievements. On 13 November, the 2025 nominees will be celebrated during a gala ceremony at The Inanda Club in Sandton.
