Wilma Crosson, CIO at Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) South Africa, says her passion for innovation and data keeps her motivated in times of rapid tech change.
“Innovation gets me excited,” enthuses Wilma. “Many people struggle to adapt to change, but I thrive on it. I love learning about what's new out there; all things data and digital keep me motivated, as does the fast pace of changing technology.”
Wilma, who has held the CIO role at Volkswagen Financial Services South Africa for just over six years, is truly passionate about technology. Although she admits her “change pace” can be a little over-enthusiastic at times. “The flipside is the frustration that I can’t get people motivated about change as quickly as me; I’ve learnt to adapt so they can get onto the same excitement level as I am,” she laughs.
With over two decades’ IT expertise in diverse industries, Wilma says her greatest challenge as CIO is to balance the urgency of AI adoption with the foresight to make the enterprise business-ready, so that AI is not just a tool, but a catalyst for reinvention.
For Wilma, it’s about turning the AI hype into real business impact which according to her means sweating the assets you have. “The real challenge isn’t just adopting Copilot in Teams, it’s inspiring users to see how these tools can elevate and redefine their work productivity,” she adds.
To make this happen, Wilma has created innovation and technology hubs within VWFS, and of late, an AI learning hub to teach awareness and build a communication platform.
IT is no longer a support function; it’s a strategic pillar
For most organisations, the customer is the focus, and, according to Wilma, VWFS is no different. “One of our key pillars is digitalising our customers so we can give them a world-class experience. We try to make the entry-point of the digital journey as efficient as possible, because efficiencies mean growth, which equals profit.”
Wilma adds that her IT team has focus areas rather than a single, big digital transformation project. She’s learnt that technology is not only an enabler, it’s now more of a strategic pillar that drives the organisation’s growth. “As CIOs, we need to ask how we use technology to drive growth, and what form of technology will enable this.”
Two years ago, Wilma established an innovation hub. “We wanted the ideas and the follow-through,” she says. “So, we encourage people to bring their ideas, and IT helps implement them.”
Wilma notes that to enable this process, she needs to go to the line managers and get that KPI commitment, because IT can't do it alone. Her team also has to be creative with ideas and drive innovation and be the leaders in this space in order to create excitement but also lead by example.
“I often share what IT has implemented within our own team as business use cases, especially in the AI learning hub,” she shares.
Finding balance and ditching ‘business as usual’
The single biggest misconception about being a CIO? “People think you know everything about tech. I can’t remember how to set up a laptop – ask me a strategic question!” she laughs.
In her downtime, Wilma says that fitness, hikes, and nature are important to her, as well as her faith. “Balance is also very important: financial, spiritual, professional and physical – if one is out of balance for me, then my world is not in sync.” And, having recently moved to Cape Town, her bucket list now includes hiking up Table Mountain.
Professionally, Wilma wants to use VWFS’s digital strategy to drive revenue growth, rather than solely focusing on ‘business as usual’. However, Wilma highlights that to do this, she needs a solid, innovative team behind her. “I have the most amazing, passionate team. I don’t manage them; I make sure we’re all aligned on the goals. I can speak and design strategies but it’s nothing without my team.”
