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DataIQ World Congress Day 1 Highlights: Connection, Collaboration and Accountability

[…] vision. Rather than broad digital mandates, NHS teams are pursuing targeted interventions that reduce friction in existing clinical tasks while building evidence for scale. Adoption of voice-assisted technology frees time for clinicians, improving employee wellbeing and enabling them to focus on patient outcomes. This underscores that the future of AI in healthcare is augmentation, not […]

Transformation with Data (Europe) – Lebara

[…] €500,000 of additional annual value, alongside significant efficiency gains. A Cultural Shift Perhaps most importantly, Lebara has made data central to strategy. What began as a technology overhaul has become a company-wide cultural transformation, with executives and front-line staff alike adopting a data-driven mindset. As Chief Data Officer Matthew Crawley put it: “It’s […]

Most Effective Stakeholder Engagement – Coventry Building Society

[…] hardwired into the Society’s structures, with a new Data Risk Committee reporting directly to the board and the Data Council reconstituted as a subcommittee for Data Risk. Technology played its part. The rollout of Informatica aligned responsibilities to system workflows, ensuring that governance was consistently applied and auditable. Engaging Stakeholders at Scale The […]

Best Place to Work in Data & AI – Superdrug

[…] all members are encouraged to share ideas and contribute to decision-making. With an all-female senior management team, the group also challenges male-dominated norms in the data and technology sector, reinforcing the value of diversity. Recognition and celebration are embedded in the culture. From the company-wide “Wall of Stars” to the team’s own “Golden Goose […]

Best Data Academy or Skills Development Programme – Love Business

[…] in Azure OpenAI designed to help beginners and aspiring analysts learn SQL, build reports, and explore data with confidence. For this innovative and empowering model blending AI technology with inclusive learning, Love Business has been named the winner of Best Data Academy or Skills Development Programme at the 2025 DataIQ Awards. “Prioritising the […]

Best AI Literacy Initiative – The Financial Times

[…] sustain awareness, technical oversight to track usage, learning design for workshops, and executive sponsorship to reinforce importance. This cross-functional model ensured AI was not treated as a technology project but a business capability. Looking Ahead For the FT, AI fluency is not a one-off campaign but a foundation for the future. The organisation […]

Nazia Pillay, Managing Director Southern Africa, SAP

Nazia Pillay is the Managing Director of SAP Southern Africa, bringing more than two decades of experience in technology, transformation, and leadership to the role. Her focus is on unlocking value through cloud, AI, and digital transformation while fostering a people-first culture that empowers teams and drives innovation. Nazia joined SAP Southern Africa in […]

Pierre Myburg, Software and Platform Engineering Lead, Accenture

Pierre has more than 17 years experience in consulting and large-scale delivery across telecommunications, FMCG, utilities, and government. He specialises in designing and implementing complex enterprise solutions that drive digital transformation and measurable business outcomes. Recent highlights include leading enterprise and solution architecture for a major telecommunications client — guiding initiatives in microservices, convergence, pricing […]

Refiloe Olifant, Enterprise Account Manager, Qlik

[…] business growth and long-term client success across diverse industries. With a strong background in IT and telecommunications sales, Refiloe brings over a decade of experience in enterprise technology, having held roles at SAS and IBM prior to joining Qlik. Her expertise lies in identifying customer needs and delivering solutions that translate complex data challenges […]

Dean Erasmus, Chief Data Officer, Microsoft

Dean Erasmus is the Chief Data Officer at Microsoft South Africa, where he leads the company’s data and AI strategy and drives AI transformation and data monetisation initiatives that empower customers to achieve measurable business growth. Overseeing teams across data, AI, and applications, Dean focuses on delivering transformative customer engagements that harness the full potential […]

Andile Bota, Enterprise Account Executive, Qlik

Andile Bota helps organisations turn raw data into actionable insights – fast, securely, and at scale. With more than 15 years of experience in information technology across Africa, Andile has worked extensively with leading banks, telecommunications providers, mining groups, and manufacturers to help them harness data for growth and innovation. Prior to joining Qlik, […]

Deepak Narayanam, Group Head of Data Science and Engineering (CDO), Access Bank

[…] operations and fintech subsidiaries. A visionary data leader and strategic innovator, Deepak is recognised for architecting and deploying transformative data strategies that harness analytics, machine learning, and technology to enhance customer experience, product performance, and operational excellence. With over two decades of international experience spanning APAC, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, […]

Werner Swanepoel, Senior Vice President – Digital, Sibanye-Stillwater

[…] 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 […]

Daniela Marx, Exec Data, Pepkor NexTech

[…] technical foundation and strategic vision eventually led to her appointment as an executive. In 2016, Daniela developed a data strategy that guided the organisation’s transition to cloud technology, transforming legacy data warehouses onto the Google Cloud Platform. Under her leadership, the data and analytics community has grown to encompass approximately 140 professionals. Today, she […]

Marius Papenfus, Head: Enterprise Data Management, South African Revenue Service

Marius Papenfus has spent more than 30 years working as an information and communications technologist, using his grounding in technology enablement to shape strategy and drive transformation across both government and the private sector. His career spans multiple industries and includes roles in enterprise architecture, programme management, service management, business leadership, and strategy development. […]
03 Dec 2025
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Designing a Robust, Future-Proof Tech Stack

[…] online sessions with expert presentations and panels on key topics. They provide practical takeaways, thought leadership, and live Q&A, and are open to all levels. ────────────────── The technology landscape for data and AI is evolving at breakneck speed, and leaders need to balance the urgency of delivering solutions with the foresight to build flexible, […]
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Data and AI Leadership: Under Way and Under Pressure

[…] They are exercises in redesigning operating models, decision rights, and roles. “Nearly all AI projects are really operating model projects with value unlocked through rethinking process, data, technology and people.” – Ian Hockney, Group Commercial Director and Office of the CIO, Specsavers. This shifts the emphasis of leadership by recognising that the most critical […]

Leadership Traits Fueling AI Excellence

[…] data and AI leadership. The Human Code Behind Data Leadership: About the Blend Dashboard In the race to operationalize AI, it is tempting to fixate on technology, tooling, architecture, and algorithms to demonstrate value and success. However, what actually shapes a data function is not the tech stack, but the people leading it. […]