A snapshot of South African CIOs who led high-impact transformation in 2025 by aligning technology, people and strategy to deliver measurable change under real-world constraints.
South African CIOs continue to operate in an environment defined by economic pressure, regulatory complexity, skills scarcity and accelerating digital expectations. In 2025, a cohort of technology leaders stood out for translating these constraints into opportunities for reinvention.
From public sector trust and airline resilience to digital banking, insurance modernisation and greenfield builds, these CIOs led consequential change through disciplined execution, people-centred leadership and clear alignment between technology and business strategy.
Phila Ndarana, AGSA CIO
At Auditor-General South Africa Phila aligns IT strategy with governance and impact, leading the organisation’s digital transformation through initiatives such as the Audit Software Programme, end-to-end data integration and automation. He places people and purpose at the forefront of technology.
“IT and computers are very important but without the people, there’s no chance of success.” He reinforces that every project must have a business case and solve a real problem. Technology must align with business imperatives and objectives. He also notes that digital transformation is not a side project. It’s part of the business strategy.
Read Phila’s interview to learn more about his people-centric leadership philosophy.
Eswee Vorster, FlySafair CIO
As CIO of FlySafair Eswee has built a technology organisation that supports the airline’s operational resilience, customer experience and innovation agenda. He underscores cultural empowerment, stakeholder alignment and continuous learning as essential to delivering technology value.
“I love seeing people develop. If someone is authentic, passionate and has the right attitude, we can teach the rest.” On innovation, he says: “Innovators have great stature in the organisation,” reflecting a leadership stance that champions technological experimentation within governance and business value contexts.
Read Eswee’s interview here to find out about the innovative culture at FlySafair and how the airline achieved system stability after a decade of its annual birthday sale.
Gita Daya, Bank Zero CIO
At Bank Zero CIO Gita led the technology function through the acquisition by Lesaka Technologies, maintaining agility while prioritising operational readiness and cultural continuity. She describes her leadership as deeply collaborative and inclusion-orientated: “It’s not you versus the team, you are part of that team.” She emphasises sustaining startup mindset with regulatory rigour and clarity at every stage.
Read her interview here to learn more about her playbook for managing through an acquisition.
Sam Nkosi, Santam group CIO
Santam group CIO Sam is directing the “Future Fit” strategy, modernising legacy systems and establishing data platforms to support new business models. He is investing in internal capability development to counter skills shortages and foster cultural change. “We’re consolidating and building platforms across the entire organisation. There’s over 106 years of data in pockets everywhere.”
He explains that IT has an opportunity to influence culture throughout the organisation. “In IT, we have a unique position. We touch every department eventually, so if you build a strong culture here, it spreads,” he explains.
Read his interview here for more on his philosophy.
Sibusiso Mbingo, CIO glu Mutual
At glu Mutual CIO Sibusiso led Project Gemini to its live launch, architecting a lean, customer-centric digital insurer built on cloud, data and simplicity principles. He highlights operational efficiency gains: “Our investment in technology and seamless partnership integration resulted in glu issuing an STP case in just under seven minutes.” He reinforces that the organisation maintains human engagement where appropriate under its “Digital with Heart” philosophy.
Learn more from Sibusiso’s interview.
