Strategy & Leadership

The recent Google Cloud breach serves as a sharp reminder that even the most advanced platforms are vulnerable. glu CIO Sibusiso Mbingo says the incident highlights key priorities for CIOs and CISOs.

CIO of the Department of Public Service and Administration Tandile Stuurman traces the beginning of her path to IT to her early exposure to computers and her father’s insistence on excellence. She now channels that influence to drive adoption, strengthen cybersecurity and build a failure-friendly culture.

Some of South Africa’s top CIOs share the productivity hacks they use to help them manage on high pressure days.

Healthbridge CTO Anton Fatti discusses the company’s rollout of Nora AI and shares practical tips for implementing AI with purpose.

When Lesaka Technologies’ acquisition of Bank Zero was announced in June 2025, CIO Gita Daya and her team were hard at work preparing for the merger. She recognised early that this transition would be as much about people as it would be about technology.

Land Bank CTOO Faith Burn stressed the importance of building diverse, multigenerational teams at the recent Executive Day held in the Melrose Arch District.

While today’s IT leaders sit at the intersection of innovation, risk and human impact, BDO South Africa’s chief information and digital officer (CIDO) Khaya Mbanga says the role is becoming less about systems and more about resilience and shaping a future where AI and human ingenuity work together.

Top C-suite leaders at the 2025 Executive Day came together for a day of connection, knowledge sharing and value creation.

A childhood spent in a small town saw Canon SA’s IT manager Martin Viljoen develop a self-taught resourcefulness that has shaped his independence in his IT career.

Whether it’s rebuilding banking architecture, uplifting her team and women or raising a family in nature, Absa Personal and Private Banking Specialised Operations Technology CIO Khanyisa Mhlaba is shaping systems, breaking boundaries and unlocking human potential.

For RMB’s Engineering Centre CIO Emily Mbele, life has often meant navigating circumstances with careful calculation, a skill honed during her childhood in Soshanguve township. Here, many decisions were a response to the consequences weighed beforehand.

An industry leader and fintech expert, Kobus Botha, Prescient’s group CTO unpacks what it takes to build an ICT career that spans over two decades.

CIOs managing large IT teams are at the forefront of the AI revolution, facing the dual challenge of integrating AI into their operations and ensuring their workforce has the necessary skills. This is particularly acute in South Africa, where the demand for AI expertise is exceptionally high, yet the supply remains critically low, writes Rowen Pillai, certified BI and data analytics expert.

An intervention by a tertiary registration office employee changed the course of Standard Bank SA Risk CIO Phakama Qoboshiyana's life, steering her from tourism into a career that would see her rise to the C-suite of a major financial institution.

Integrove CIO Dries van Jaarsveld believes integration is the cornerstone of enabling modern enterprises. He reflects on how the interconnected nature of his career path has positioned him to drive the technology strategy at one of South Africa’s leading tech firms.

For the 2024 Public Sector CIO Award winner, Pandelani Munyai, everything has to have a scientific approach and reasoning behind it. Now he is tapping into his science background to rewrite South Africa’s digital future as Transnet’s CIO.

2024 CIO Awards cybersecurity category winner and Clicks’ group head of IT Ridwan Khan is an inspiring case study of how CIOs navigate modern IT challenges while staying grounded in their personal lives and values.

RMB chief digital information officer (CDIO) Christiaan du Preez says leading technology teams is his true calling. He believes that collaboration between industry and the private sector can make a real difference in addressing the skills shortage.

IFS head of group IT Andrew Britz is connecting Africa’s most remote operations the way he deep-sea fishes in the Indian Ocean – with whatever he has at his disposal.

Winner of the 2024 CIO Smart Award, Aveena Mothilall is charting her own path and giving back in a different way. Although she has moved on from her CIO days, she continues to fuel the success of many career paths through her passion for tech and youth development.