Meet the CIO

Technology sits at the heart of modern capital markets, and nowhere is that more evident than at the JSE. In the latest episode of Meet the CIO, TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod sits down with Tebalo Tsoaeli, the bourse’s CIO, to unpack how technology underpins Africa’s largest stock exchange – and how it is evolving for a more digital, global and real-time future.

Meet the CIO is brought to you by NTT DATA, where global experience meets local impact.

Tsoaeli has spent his entire career in financial services technology, starting out as an application developer at Rand Merchant Bank before holding senior technology roles at Standard Bank, Investec, Nedbank, FirstRand and Sanlam. He became CIO of the JSE three years ago, bringing deep experience in large-scale, mission-critical systems to one of the most tightly regulated technology environments in the country.

In the conversation, Tsoaeli reflects on his early exposure to computing and how a formal grounding in computer science shaped his career path. While he is clearly a technologist at heart, he explains how his role has evolved beyond pure IT delivery to focus on strategy, resilience, regulatory compliance and enabling market growth.

A major theme of the discussion is the JSE’s technology stack and how it has changed over time. Tsoaeli explains how the exchange now works closely with Amazon Web Services, moving away from a purely on-premises model to leverage cloud infrastructure for scalability, resilience and performance. He also addresses the question many market participants ask: can the cloud really be trusted with mission-critical exchange workloads, especially in a world where outages at global providers can have far-reaching consequences?

Latency and real-time trading are central concerns for any exchange, and Tsoaeli provides insight into how the JSE’s infrastructure supports the full trading lifecycle – from pre-market activity through live trading to post-trade clearing and settlement. He also touches on the exchange’s networking architecture and how it is designed to deliver predictable, low-latency performance for brokers and market participants.

The episode also explores the JSE’s strategic technology partnership with Nasdaq. Tsoaeli explains how this relationship operates at a technology level and what it has delivered so far, including support for market modernisation and international interoperability. Closely linked to this is the modernisation of the JSE’s Broker Dealer Accounting system, a project Tsoaeli describes as critical to improving efficiency, resilience and future-readiness.

Given the highly regulated nature of financial markets, security and compliance are never far from the conversation. Tsoaeli outlines how the JSE balances innovation with stringent regulatory requirements, and what this means for data protection, operational risk and trust in the market.

Looking ahead, the discussion touches on cross-border capital flows, dual listings and the potential role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning in trading and market operations – along with the risks that come with them.

Finally, Tsoaeli shares his perspective on what success looks like for the JSE’s technology journey over the next three to five years, how he sees the role of the CIO evolving, and – in a lighter moment – his favourite productivity hack. TechCentral

Welcome to season 2 of Meet the CIO, TechCentral’s podcast series that dives into the minds of South Africa’s top technology leaders. Meet the CIO is brought to you by NTT DATA – where global experience meets local impact.

After a highly successful first season featuring CIOs from across the corporate landscape, we’re kicking off season 2 with a conversation with Khaya Mbanga, chief information and digital officer at BDO South Africa, where he also heads the firm’s growing BDO Digital division.

BDO is one of the world’s largest professional services firms, specialising in audit, tax and advisory. Headquartered in Belgium, its name comes from the three founding firms – Binder, Dijker and Otte – that merged to form the organisation.

In this wide-ranging episode, Mbanga reflects on his career journey through consulting, FMCG and mining; how he first got into technology; and the evolution of the CIO role into one that now straddles digital strategy, cybersecurity, AI and organisational change.

He also unpacks his passion for artificial intelligence, including his involvement in the IITPSA Special Interest Group on AI and Robotics, and offers his perspective on how AI will reshape auditing, tax and broader business functions in South Africa. From managing hallucinations in large language models to rethinking talent pipelines, Mbanga shares candid insights into both the opportunities and risks ahead.

Topics covered include:

• What it means to be the CIDO of BDO South Africa

• Career background across consulting, FMCG and mining

• His first computer and how he got into technology

• Robotic process automation in the mining sector

• How AI will transform auditing and tax

• Dealing with the risk of AI hallucinations in data-sensitive environments

• The broader impact of AI on South African business

• Technology talent shortages and what skills CIOs need today

• His favourite productivity hacks and tools

Don’t miss this great opener to the new season of Meet the CIO. If you missed any of the interviews from season 1, you can find them all on TechCentral. TechCentral

When Nedbank realised early last year that its mammoth core banking overhaul and modernisation programme was going awry, it turned to Marijke Guest for help.

Guest, CIO of Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) and payments and a veteran of the financial services group, tells TechCentral’s Meet the CIO about how the bank realised it was headed for trouble, and what it took to get the project back on track and delivered – all in little under a year.

According to Nedbank, the project was thought to be 80% complete, but when it was reassessed in January 2024, it became clear that only around 20% of the actual scope had been delivered.

“Designs were incomplete,” the bank said. “Engineering practices were out of date. Key components, such as the liability rates engine, product lifecycle workflows and real-time processing, were either broken or unbuilt. The programme was years behind its intended outcomes, and the bank’s reputation was at stake.”

Guest, who has worked at Nedbank for the past 25 years, tells Meet the CIO’s Duncan McLeod about:

• When and why Nedbank first decided it needed to modernise its core banking systems and what the project would entail;

• What’s involved in an undertaking like this, and why there’s potential for things to go wrong that could lead to huge cost overruns – as has happened at other South African banks that have embarked on similar modernisation programmes;

• What Nedbank’s core banking modernisation project aimed to achieve, and why it was at risk of being derailed;

• What she did to get it back on track and motivate the IT teams involved;

• What it took to get everyone to start pulling in the same direction and ensure the project was delivered on time with zero reputational impact to the bank;

• How she coped with the immense pressure she and her teams were under from the board and top management to get the project done right, on time and within budget;

• What Nedbank can do now that it couldn’t do before, and how that positions it next to its rivals – both the traditional banks and the new digital bank challengers that have emerged in recent years; and

• What CIOs who are embarking on similarly complex IT projects can learn from Nedbank’s project – including the pitfalls they should watch out for, and what areas they should be careful not to neglect.

Guest was ultimately awarded Nedbank’s Chief Executive Award for her leadership of the project. No one involved in IT management should miss this fascinating discussion! TechCentral

Meet the CIO | Schalk Visser on Cell C’s big pivot

Schalk Visser has worked in telecommunications for more than 20 years, first at Telkom, then at Vodacom and now at Cell C, where he has served as chief information and technology officer since 2020.

Visser, an engineer, joined Cell C 13 years ago – during the tenure of former CEO Alan Knott-Craig – as an executive in the company’s programme management office, where he helped lead a renewal of its radio access network.

TechCentral’s guest in the latest episode of the publication’s Meet the CIO podcast, Visser tells host Duncan McLeod about his career journey in telecoms before delving into his work in helping transform Cell C’s technology stack – with a focus on recent years as the operator moved to shut down its own radio access network in favour of partnerships with other mobile operators.

In the interview, Visser chats about:

• Where his interest in technology began;

• His time with Telkom and Vodacom, including his experience helping build Vodacom’s network in Mozambique;

• The changes that have occurred at Cell C in recent years and why they’re significant – including a look at the network partnership with MTN and Vodacom, and what that’s allowed the company to do differently;

• His day-to-day role as head of technology at Cell C;

• The role of technology in supporting what is essentially a technology business;

• The changes he has brought to Cell C’s technology stack and why;

• The recent ransomware attack – what happened, and what’s been done to address it; and

• What’s exciting him about what’s coming down the line in telecoms technology.

Don’t miss a great interview! TechCentral

Yosheen Padayachee, group IT director at Tsebo Solutions Group, is our guest in this episode of TechCentral’s Meet the CIO.

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Yosheen Padayachee was named as one of the top 100 most influential women in technology in 2024 and has been recognised among the Cyber 50 leaders in cybersecurity in Africa.

Padayachee, who serves as group IT director at workplace management solutions company Tsebo Solutions Group, is TechCentral’s guest in this episode of Meet the CIO.

Previously CIO for Africa at Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, Padayachee is pursuing a doctorate in technology innovation. She shares her story in this interview.

She unpacks:

• How her career pivoted from healthcare into IT and IT management;

• Her career journey so far, which has included roles in the banking sector at Nedbank and FNB, and important lessons she’s learnt along the way;

• The role of IT at Tsebo Solutions Group;

• The big technology projects she’s currently helping lead;

• Her insights on cybersecurity in modern organisations, and why security must be embedded at the foundation of all digital innovation;

• The impact of AI on the ability of companies to protect themselves from cyber adversaries; and

• Why gender diversity in the male-dominated technology industry is vital – and what needs to be done to encourage more young women to choose technology as a career.

Don’t miss this insightful conversation. TechCentral