What's Next with Aki Anastasiou

In this What’s Next in Security interview, Sudipto Moitra – GM for ICT Solutions at MTN Business – joins Aki Anastasiou to discuss MTN’s transformation from a telco to a TechCo. Moitra has built up extensive experience holding several strategic management positions at leading companies – including TCS and Dimension Data. In his current role at MTN Business, Moitra is responsible for ensuring that...

In this episode of What’s Next, Anker experts Lorraine Gillesen and Chantelle Batty discuss the brand’s best load-shedding products. Lorraine Gillesen is the Anker National Sales Manager at Premium Brand Distributors. She has over 20 years of experience in IT hardware sales, business development, and channel management across different market verticals. Gillesen has an innovative approach to sales...

In this What’s Next interview, Metacom founder and chairman Réan van Niekerk meets with Aki Anastasiou to discuss the benefits and challenges of building an ICT company in Africa. Van Niekerk is an accomplished thought leader, technology architect, innovator, and entrepreneur who has successfully built multiple companies and complex tech solutions throughout his 40-year career. This includes Van N...

In this episode of What’s Next, Thabiso Hlatshwayo – Senior Solution Consulting Manager at OpenText Africa – discusses the relevance of Cloud FinOps, a topic he will be presenting at the Cloud & Security Conference 2023. Hlatshwayo leads a team of highly-experienced solution consultants who are responsible for the design of multifaceted technology solutions for clients across Africa. Born a digita...

In this episode of What’s Next, Marco Fonto – Managing Director at Stratum Benefits – discusses the benefits of gap cover. Fonto worked in the insurance industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before founding Stratum Benefits after noticing an opportunity in the market. Specialists were charging more than medical aid members were covered for, and the patients were struggling to pick up the dif...

In this episode of What’s Next, Matthew Cruise – Hohm Energy’s Head of Business Intelligence and Public Relations – talks about the role of solar energy in South Africa. Cruise is an energy expert who worked for Eskom for 11 years. During this time, he held multiple positions, including Engineering Project Manager, Integration Specialist, and Energy Specialist. He joined Hohm Energy at the beginni...

In this episode of What’s Next, Jan Bouwer – Chief of Digital Platform Solutions at BCX – discusses the benefits of managed cloud solutions, a topic he will be presenting on at the Cloud & Security Conference 2023. Bouwer started his career as an IT professional at a leading iron and steel manufacturing company, before joining Andersen Consulting and then Accenture – a global NYSE-listed company....

In this episode of What’s Next, Lee Syse – Lead Cloud Solutions Architect for the Cloud Providers business at VMware Sub-Saharan Africa – explains what he will present at the 2023 Cloud & Security Conference. Syse joined VMware in 2016 and has reached his current role as Lead Cloud Solutions Architect through hard work and a passion for the cloud industry. In this role, he collaborates with Africa...

In this episode of What’s Next, Lazaros Karapanagiotidis – Chief Product and Marketing Officer at IoT.nxt – and Vusi Mngomezulu – Head of Sales at IoT.nxt – discuss the role IoT is playing in addressing key ESG challenges in South Africa. Karapanagiotidis has extensive experience in key business areas such as digital strategy development and implementation, e-commerce, digital product development,...

Stephen van Niekerk is the Executive Head of Momentum Myriad and has worked at Momentum for over 20 years. He has played a vital role in the evolution of the impressive benefits offered by the Momentum Myriad life insurance products. Van Niekerk and his team have been responsible for key innovation in the risk protection market – such as Longevity Protection and Momentum’s Breadth of Cover Guarant...

David Behr is the CEO of Liquid C2 and is a highly respected voice in the Southern African cloud and cybersecurity industries. He is a top internet pioneer and entrepreneur who first rose to prominence when he founded ZOL in 1995 and grew it into Zimbabwe’s largest ISP. When ZOL was acquired by Liquid Intelligent Technologies in 2012, he joined the company as an Executive Director and was responsi...

Dinesh Govender is the CEO of Discovery Vitality South Africa and holds a position on the Discovery Executive Board. Govender has held his CEO position for over five years and is dedicated to the belief that behavioural economics and clinical science can improve people’s health. As a result, the Discovery Vitality Programme prioritises using the latest technologies to positively transform people’s...

Iain Stevenson is the founder and CEO of Comsol and boasts over 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. In 1997, Stevenson founded Comsol to fill a gap in the wireless telecommunications market in South Africa. Since then, he has grown the company from a single regional business to an industry leader in building terrestrial wireless access infrastructure across all sectors. Stev...

Rebatho Madiba is the Managing Executive for Business Development at BCX, a title she has held since July 2022. Madiba previously served as the SAP Competency Manager for Debswana, where she established the Debswana SAP Change and Training Management programme across its mines. She also worked at Transnet and held multiple prominent titles, including Digital Project Manager, the acting Group Chief...

Charles Mizzi is the head of Malta Residency, and Kurt Farrugia is the Chief Executive Officer of Malta Enterprise. Mizzi began his career in the banking sector and in 2014, he was appointed as the Executive Director of Media and Marketing for the Maltese Presidency in the European Council. He then became the Chief Officer for Communications and Business Development at the Individual Investor Prog...

Jan Roux is the portfolio executive for Digital Workspace Management (DWM) at BCX, a position he has held for over four years. Roux is a South African IT professional who has been in the industry for over 23 years. He is known for his technical expertise, leadership skills, and deep understanding of industry and technology trends. He previously worked at Integr8IT as the MD and then the CIO, befor...

Riaan van Reenen is the CEO of Discovery Life and over two decades of experience with this business unit. He worked at Discovery Health until Discovery Life was founded in 2001 – and he has since served in various roles in the Discovery Life division. Van Reenen’s main goal is to help Discovery Life’s customers lead healthier lives through unique, shared-value offerings. He also chairs the ASSA Li...

Hylton Kallner is an actuary, business builder, and the Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Bank. He has been a part of the Discovery ecosystem since 1996, where he began his journey as a key player in various marketing, actuarial, and strategic projects. He then became the company’s Chief Marketing Officer in 2006, and has since served in multiple CEO positions at Discovery Limited - becoming th...

Waldo Krugell is a professor of Economic Sciences at North-West University, where he teaches macro and microeconomics. He serves on the board of Economic Research Southern Africa, and previously was the editor of SAJEMS – a leading South African academic publication focused on Economic and Management Sciences. Krugell also shares his thoughts about the economy on his podcast – Die Ekonomie Minuut....

Shameel Joosub is the Group CEO of Vodacom and the winner of the 2023 MyBroadband Telecoms CEO of the Year award. Joosub holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science from the University of South Africa, an MBA from the University of Southern Queensland, and an Advanced Management Program certificate from Harvard University. He has developed a reputation in South Africa as an excellent telecoms CEO and i...

Greg Smith is the co-founder and joint CEO of OneSpark Insurance. He is a qualified actuary who designed dozens of award-winning insurance products, helped start a bank, and even contributed towards creating one of South Africa’s largest Social Impact Bonds before founding OneSpark. OneSpark Insurance’s main purpose is to continuously innovate for the betterment of its clients and the pursuit of a...

Kobus Visagie is the Executive of Business Solutions at Tracker. He is an experienced IT entrepreneur who has spent the past 25 years converting IT strategy into integrated solutions that give businesses a competitive advantage. Visagie has extensive technical knowledge of IoT, SaaS solutions, supply chain management, logistics, and various other technology industries. He uses this knowledge and e...

Shamith Maharaj is the Executive of Data Networks at BCX and has 18 years of global telecommunications experience. He has extensive knowledge in fields like project management, network design, network activations, network operations, network management, IT management, and service assurance. Maharaj prides himself on having built strong relationships with customers and suppliers throughout his care...

Justin Hume is the Vice President of Mobile at Samsung South Africa. Hume began in his current role 11 months ago and has 26 years of industry experience overall. This experience includes serving in roles like Director of Product and Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer, and Director of Integrated Mobility at Samsung South Africa. In this What’s Next interview, Hume explains how the newly-launched S...

Wynand Theron is the CEO and founder of iTried, an IT services and consulting company that helps start-ups, SMEs, and schools protect their cloud data. Theron founded iTried to share his knowledge and passion with smaller organisations and help them build secure networks. He gained this knowledge through years of working in the ICT, hospitality, and co-working sectors as an IT manager and entrepre...