CIO South Africa recently had the opportunity to connect with Sizwe Ndlovu, a passionate foodie and the chief technology officer at Pineapple, an innovative insurance provider.
Sizwe Ndlovu shares insights into the emerging technologies reshaping the insurance industry and discusses his strategies for safeguarding customer data, and more.
Q: Can you share a bit about your background – where you’re from, what you studied, and the key milestones that have shaped your career in technology?
A: I was born in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, but grew up in Gqeberha. I completed my bachelor’s in Computer Science at the University of Cape Town. I have spent my professional career working across multiple industries – marketing, wine and spirits, public sector, social and now financial services, specifically insurance.
Q: What does your role as CTO at Pineapple entail?
A: My primary role is to formulate the company’s technology endeavours, systems and policies that facilitate our objectives of selling insurance products. By doing this, I ensure customer success through their interaction with our systems.
Q: What is it that you enjoy the most about your job?
A: It is very exciting to see new technological innovations and how we can use them to enhance our company’s offerings. The rate of innovation in the industry breeds a whole range of opportunities to flip entire processes on their heads.
Another strong passion of mine is people. I love building talent, empowering people and helping them become tomorrow’s leaders.
Q: How are emerging technologies like AI and machine learning transforming the underwriting process and improving risk assessment in your organisation?
A: I believe the current state of the technology adds the most value at an operational efficiency level. AI (artificial intelligence) allows companies to really streamline a lot of their internal processes that don’t necessarily need to mimic conversational “human” behaviour. AI can speed up many processes pertaining to decision-making, optimisation and security. But when it comes to content generation, I believe the greatest value will be added once the technology starts resembling human-like qualities. Technology is rapidly improving in that aspect, and that will be the point when we see robots effectively replace humans – which is scary, but it is coming!
Q: What steps are you taking to strengthen cybersecurity in an industry where data privacy and protection are paramount, especially with the rise of digital insurance platforms?
A: As a company, cybersecurity is of vital importance. We’re constantly taking steps to ensure this, which is paramount to customer delight. We’re extremely proactive on this front in that we’re on top of current technologies, threats and trends. We also implement measures to better protect and strengthen our systems from such cybersecurity threats. We also work very closely with compliance to ensure that our initiatives are compliant with the country's data protection laws.
Q: If you were not working in IT, what other profession would you be in?
A: I really don’t see myself outside of IT. I never really had a second choice, and if I did, I don’t remember because it was never something that I was clearly passionate about!
Q: What books are you currently reading, and who's your favourite author, and why?
A: I’m not big on reading, and that is probably something I need to work on. But I do love podcasts. I love listening to Steven Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO”. I do also occasionally listen to the Joe Budden podcast, which I find very entertaining.
Q: What do you do to unwind, do you have any interesting hobbies?
A: I do generally spend my free time upskilling and improving my knowledge, as I do consider myself a curious person. This involves watching YouTube and actually trying to code out concepts I perceived as challenging and try to solve them. In terms of unwinding, I have a passion for food, cooking, and most recently wine. I also enjoy the outdoors and getting some sunlight, be it through running or taking walks.
