Werner Swanepoel is the Senior Vice President for Digital at Sibanye-Stillwater, where he leads the introduction and integration of digital solutions, including analytics and artificial intelligence, across the organisation.
He graduated as an Electrical Engineer and went on to complete a postgraduate degree in Industrial Engineering, a combination that proved invaluable early in his career by enabling him to merge control and automation with process optimisation. This foundation quickly evolved into a focus on data-driven decision-making across diverse business domains.
After six years in engineering, Werner transitioned into corporate banking, where he built integrated analytics and insights solutions across complex business processes and applications. He ultimately led the analytics team for FNB Corporate and Commercial, shaping enterprise-wide data and analytics strategy.
He later joined Deloitte, where he spent 16 years (and the last ten as a Partner) establishing and expanding data, analytics, and digital capabilities. During this period, he led some of the largest data and analytics transformation programmes across Africa, working with clients to translate strategic ambitions into measurable business outcomes.
At Sibanye-Stillwater, Werner continues to drive digital transformation at scale, embedding analytics, automation, and AI as core enablers of operational excellence and innovation.
DataIQ asked: “How do you see the role of the data leader evolving over the next 12-24 months?”
“As always, successful data leaders need to be networkers and collaborators first, with strong business acumen and the ability to connect the dots. Data and analytics solutions, including AI solutions, are first and foremost about understanding business opportunity, combined with a solid understanding of how technology can enable. With the rapid evolution of AI capabilities, the way in which we solve will likely change fundamentally. Staying abreast of these developments, while not getting distracted with all the new tech, will be critical.”