South Africa's top IT chiefs and tech gurus gathered in Johannesburg at the 2026 CIO Day to unpack how AI, governance and evolving C‑suite partnerships are reshaping leadership, risk, and digital transformation across South African enterprises.
Industry heavy-hitters including Warren Hero, architecture design segment product lead at Sars; Nomonde White, CIO: Group compliance at Absa and Dr Denisha Jairam-Owthar, group CIO for the Council for Medical Schemes were among the top tech leaders speaking at the event held at the Marriott Hotel, Melrose Arch.
At least 130 IT executives braved the chilly weather and heavy traffic to deliver one message in the age of AI: your biggest competitive advantage isn’t your tech stack, it's your leadership.
CIOs shared lessons, insights and had frank conversations about digital disruptions and changes that the Fifth Industrial Revolution has ushered in.
The day began with a brief networking session over a delicious breakfast buffet and hot drinks to warm up before attendees split into groups for discussions on how AI is rewriting job descriptions overnight, amid tighter budgets and higher expectations.
Throughout the day’s sessions, a single common thread underpinned all discussions: as AI accelerates, organisations are being defined less by their technology stack and more by the courage, clarity and adaptability of their leadership in this time.
During one of the first breakaway sessions, Nicole Borges, CIO for global markets at Standard Bank Group highlighted how CIOs are moving towards a deeper understanding of client outcomes and the value chain. “How do we move away from the risk avoiders, and how do we enable our business to become business disruptors?” she asked attendees.
The same group also identified South Africa as the “AI powerhouse on the African continent” with more data centres than the rest of Africa combined.
“We’re busy with the construction of the tallest wind farm in Africa. I’m building two half‑a‑gigawatt plants in solar. So renewables is my second strongest division. South Africa must back local models, languages and open‑source ecosystems, while navigating real constraints in energy, skills, and governance,” Kevin Wilson, group general manager of IT for Stefanutti Stocks Construction.
Leadership and technology
The day’s first panel discussion took place in the beautifully set-up main dining hall under the theme Rewire or fall behind: How agile leaders turn disruption into competitive advantage.
The panel featured Warren Hero, architecture design segment product lead at Sars; Ashona Kooblall, group CFO at iOCO Technology Group, and Mordechai Serraf, director at Entelect.
In this discussion panellists emphasised the need for a strategic, trust-based partnership between the CFO and CIO as an essential for value creation. Ashona provided valuable insights on how CIOs can improve their presentations to boards, advising IT leaders to move beyond technical language and frame proposals, and to rather highlight measurable business outcomes, risk management and return on investment. She also advised that they build flexibility into their budget proposals to absorb regulatory change and system shocks.
“That’s quite important, because you can have a budget approved upfront, and these are massive budgets, and we love them, because it’s going to drive our priorities quicker, and get faster to the consumer, more efficiencies, eventually better cost and ultimately great profitability over time,” said Ashona.
The discussion then pivoted to the importance of being able to experiment with new technologies, with Mordechai emphasising that it was leaders who ultimately decide how experimentation with new technologies like AI takes root inside an organisation.
“Get buy-in in advance: this could go one of two ways, depending on the process. I think it’s really important to allow space and creativity to innovate. By explicitly signalling support for trying new things, separating experimental failure from operational failure, and creating safe spaces to learn from what doesn’t work, they set the tone for how innovation is pursued,” he said.
After the first panel wrapped up, guests tucked into steaming plates of oxtail cooked in red wine, stuffed chicken, grilled vegetables and creamy mash for lunch.
Lessons CIOs and directors need to unlearn and relearn
Once everyone had cleared their plates, it was time for the last panel discussion of the day titled The agility imperative at board level: Lessons CIOs and directors need to unlearn and relearn.
The panel was chaired by Absa’s Nomonde White and featured insights from Zuko Mdwaba CEO at Xponential Group; His Excellency Prof. Dr Ambassador Tal Edgars, group executive chairman, GBSH Consult Group; Dr Denisha Jairam-Owthar, group CIO, Council for Medical Schemes, and group chair Mteto Nyati, Executive Chairman of BSG Group.
Panellists unpacked the challenges surrounding organisational transformation amid rapid technological change. Key points included the need for leadership structures to adapt quickly, the importance of cultural change, and the role of technology in driving innovation.
“When you think about behaviour, there are people who have built their careers across different organisations and gone through various behavioural changes. It’s not easy, because nowadays we’re living in an era where things are changing at a very rapid pace. That continuous need to change behaviours, to pivot and stay relevant, is the challenge that companies are faced with,” said Zuko.
They also emphasised a growing necessity for board members to understand technology and the need for continuous learning and unlearning.
“Most organisations have 20th century architecture, and we’re now in a technology phase that’s moving rapidly and forcing us to examine the psychological and architectural mismatch between leadership and technology. This has created a deficit where every board is starting to look at its strategic imperatives…The bigger question then becomes: will the board’s asymmetry itself become an issue if the governance framework completely collapses? We are heading towards a reality where leaders may be running very good organisations, but with obsolete architecture,” said Tal.
Clear communication and employee engagement when integrating AI and digital strategies, were also identified as key drivers for maintaining ethical and human leadership in a fast-paced world.
As the day drew to a close, guests took the opportunity to network around the buffet, this time laid out with a scrumptious assortment of desserts before settling in for a final round of group activities.
Guests shared their insights and experiences around themes of redesigning governance to enable speed without losing control, how to navigate boardroom bottlenecks, cost reductions amid demands for faster innovation and increasing pressure to respond to market shifts, adopt AI, and move faster.
CIO Day was made possible by principal partners Entelect, Cassava, iOCO and Makwa IT; executive partners Deloitte, HCLTech, Hyland, ITR Technology, Kaspersky, Magic Orange and associate Workday.
