IITPSA President’s Awards 2021 finalists named
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) has released the list of finalists for the 2021 IITPSA President’s Awards. Since 1979, the IITPSA President’s Awards have been a South African industry highlight, and have been bestowed on leaders in the local ICT sector.
The 2021 awards are themed Excellence in the New Normal, acknowledging the important role IT professionals play in helping the world to adapt to a changed environment.
IITPSA President Admire Gwanzura says: “The 2020 awards were themed Excellence in Adversity, recognising IT excellence during the challenging early days of the pandemic. For 2021, we recognise IT professionals playing a pivotal role in helping business and society successfully adapt to a digital ‘new normal’.”
The 2021 finalists are:
IT Personality of the Year Award 2021
This award recognises a person who has made an outstanding impact on the SA ICT industry over the past year and a significant contribution to the IT profession.
IT Personality Award 2021
– Michael Cowen, Global CEO & Co-Founder of Teraflow.ai. Teraflow.ai, a Data and Machine Learning (ML) Engineering business, has seen explosive growth in ‘Making AI Work’. Living by the mantra that ‘Profits Follow People’, Cowen previously held executive positions at Deloitte Digital as a Digital Advisory Director, at Mindshare Digital as a Digital Partner, and has been the founder of five start-ups.
– Clayton Hayward, CEO of Ukheshe Technologies. Hayward was the founder of over a dozen technology and services businesses both locally and abroad. Among the companies he founded were Vidette, a specialist strategic sales and account management methodology and CRM software provider, openVOICE, a pioneer VOIP service and open-source telecommunications provider, and Ukheshe Technologies, which aims to become the dominant B2B fintech enabler on the continent.
– Maeson Maherry, Global Chief Technology Officer at Matica Technologies. He has over 20 years’ experience in building products, lines of business and companies. Maherry is an entrepreneur who has started a tech business and organically grown it through to a liquidity event for the funding shareholders and then taken the company global in a listed environment.
– Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the University of Johannesburg. He was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Engineering at the University. He is a Fellow of The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, a distinguished member of the Association for Computing Machinery, and has received more than 45 awards including the Order of Mapungubwe from the South African Government and the President’s Award from the National Research Foundation. He also served as Deputy Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Visionary CIO of the Year Award 2021
This award recognises a personality on the other side of the IT vendor and service provider sector – an executive in the corporate IT environment who has demonstrated visionary leadership in applying technology to grow and transform business.
– Herman Swanepoel, CIO and Innovation Officer at Bestmed. He is credited with building the IT foundation for Bestmed’s success and growth. Bestmed is the largest self-administered medical scheme in South Africa and is ranked highest in employee morale and workplace support and management in the OHBF employee culture and climate survey, and 1st in the Ask Afrika Orange Index Benchmark for the medical aid industry.
– Khathu Sibanda, CIO at the University of Johannesburg. She is a strategic enabler for the University in delivering new tools and services that leverage technology and data, enable customers (staff and students) engagement and market the IT organisation across the University.
– Mthokozisi Mncwabe, Group CIO at Airports Company South Africa. Having driven the strategic technology vision at the South African Post Office (SAPO) and Postbank, he is now growing Airports Company South Africa’s core digital platforms and related support and reporting system, striving for a cost-effective platform strategy in becoming the world’s best airports company.
– Fikile Sibiya, CIO at e4. She oversees the vision, leadership, development, and implementation of IT initiatives for software specialist e4, managing core IT infrastructure and information security, enterprise architecture and internal business systems to contribute to the evolution of the organisation.
– Avsharn Bachoo, CIO at Comair Limited. As a computer scientist and tech strategist with a PhD in Systems Architecture, he deploys his unique blend of world-class scientific experience and deep technical expertise to lead exponential organisational change for Comair.
Technology Excellence Award 2021
This award recognises a person or team who has made exceptional / innovative use of information technology, or has designed an innovative new technology for an organisation and has exhibited technological excellence that has delivered measurable benefit for business and / or the SA economy
– Clayton Hayward, CEO of Ukheshe Technologies. Hayward was the founder of over a dozen technology and services businesses including Vidette, a specialist strategic sales and account management methodology and CRM software provider, openVOICE, a pioneer VOIP service and open-source telecommunications provider, and Ukheshe Technologies, which aims to become the dominant B2B fintech enabler on the continent.
– Prof. De Wet Swanepoel, Ph.D, Professor of audiology at the University of Pretoria and co-founder of the hearX Group at the University. He is professor of audiology and research director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Loss at the University of Pretoria, and is also senior research fellow at the Ear Science Institute Australia. His research capitalises on digital health to explore, develop and evaluate innovative technologies and service delivery models for ear and hearing care. Prof. Swanepoel is also the Editor-In-Chief for the International Journal of Audiology and past president of the International Society of Audiology. He holds several patents and is founder of an international digital health company, the hearX group.
– Ajay Lalu, CEO and Co-founder of Q-Hop. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Certified IoT Professional as well as co-founder & director of the Consumption Information Real Time (CIRT). CIRT’s contactless cashless retail checkout solution with hyper personalised promotions, called Q-Hop, was selected as one of 10 companies globally to be included in GSD Accelerator Programme out of Silicon Valley and has been identified as a potential unicorn by Silicon Valley veterans.
– Dr Kathryn Malherbe, Lecturer, University of Pretoria Health and Sciences, CEO of Medsol AI Solutions and founder of Breast Cancer Support Pretoria. A mammographer and radiographer by trade, Malherbe’s recent PhD research has led to local and international interest in a patent pending algorithm, now embedded as an AI and Deep machine learning system able to identify, segment and predict the differential diagnosis of breast cancer. This can be used in urban and rural clinics, since the wireless handheld ultrasound probe is Wi-Fi embedded and 65% more cost effective than current market leaders. Her company, MedSol AI Solutions, has worked alongside TIA, Innovation Hub, TWIGA and SAB Foundation.
Social Responsibility/Community Award 2021
This award recognises a person, team or project delivering the benefits of IT on a not-for-profit basis into the community/or bringing the community into the IT space (addressing the digital divide).
– Research Connect: Department of Electrical and Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg (UJ). Prof. Suné von Solms, Associate Professor and Head of Department, and Prof. Johan Meyer, Associate Professor, run the Research Connect team, which focuses on connecting project-based learning with community engagement.
– Taryn Rae, Acting General Manager at Tomorrow Trust. Tomorrow Trust provides holistic programmes focused on academic, psychosocial, career and digital development to orphaned and vulnerable children and youth.
– Kgopotso Ditshego Magoro, Director Learning and Innovation at the Department of National Treasury. Her research into new approaches to community-based digital transformation has led to the establishment of Mamaila Community Network, a Wi-Fi project implemented in partnership with the Mamaila Royal Council and the Zuri Foundation, Limpopo Province.
– Priya Balakisten, Finance Director at Champagne Sports Resort. She is overseeing the expansion of the resort’s CSI programme, working with Isizwe Projects to roll out internet access to over 30 schools in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg.
The winners will be named at the gala virtual awards ceremony on 12 April. To register to attend the awards, click here
To show your support for the nominees, please go to Annual President’s Awards 2021 Finalists – IITPSA and click on those you believe to be most deserving.
Issued by ITP Communications on behalf of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa. For further information or interviews, please contact Leigh Angelo at leigh@tradeprojects.co.za or Cell: 082 954 7833