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12 personalities Brainstorm profiled in 2019

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 17 Dec 2019

As the embers of 2019 begin to flicker and grow dim, we look back at the profiles of technology professionals featured in Brainstorm magazine.

If the year could be told through these profiles, it would show organisations on the move as they continue their journey of digital transformation.

One man who will probably be glad to slam the door on 2019 will be EOH's Stephen Van Coller, who has spent the lion's share of the year in a desperate fight to save his firm from further scandal. His actions seem to be bearing fruit, but the rebuilding must continue in the new year.

We spoke to Craig Brunsden, Axiz MD, about his plans, and as he says, it's a constant challenge to reinvent the business.

"It’s one of those jobs where you will never nail it."

We also spoke to the Cisco’s ebullient Charmaine Houvet who really seems as much as home in the boardroom and as she is persuading governments they need to set up broadband infrastructure in refugee camps.

I also particularly enjoyed the chat with Siatik's CEO Brett St Clair, who has lived in 32 countries through jobs in IT, telecoms, banking, and advertising. His company helps businesses transform into digital entities, and is Africa’s only certified Google trainer for the cloud and AI.

If there's one thing that certain, the future will be in the clouds.

Audrey Verhaeghe, Chairperson, SA Innovation Summit in Cape Town
Tackling the wicked problem
January 2019 

Audrey Verhaeghe says the SA Innovation Summit may hold the key for investment into the country.


Paula Sartini, CEO of BrandQuantum

Setting standards
February 2019

Ensuring brand uniformity and accuracy in the digital world.


Brett St Clair, Siatik CEO

Touching a nerve
March 2019

Siatik CEO Brett St Clair helps to transform businesses into digital entities.


Nic Callegari, Multichoice Connected Video
Talking TV 
April 2019

How is  South Africa’s broadcast TV market  responding to disruption?


Desan Naidoo, SAS Africa
Building better understanding 
May 2019

The world of data analysis has the potential to change businesses and governments, but for SAS, it’s also undergoing its own period of evolution.


Madoda Khuzwayo

The charming entrepreneur 
June 2019

Accommodation, student networking, websites and hosting, tenders, coding initiatives, cheap glasses, recruitment – Madoda Khuzwayo has turned his hand to many things, and he’s not finished yet.


Stephen van Coller, EOH
Living through a crisis 
July 2019

When one of the biggest systems integrators in the country got its contract to resell Microsoft licences cancelled, things looked bleak from the outside. But what was it like being in the centre of the storm? EOH’s Stephen van Coller speaks.


Charmaine Houvet, Cisco

Fighting the good fight 
August 2019

A corporate powerhouse, Cisco’s Charmaine Houvet is energised by her mission to make a difference.


Craig Brunsden, Axiz
Keeping pace with change
September 2019

By continuously reinventing itself, Axiz MD Craig Brunsden believes the company has cemented its future.


Bevan Smith, Visa

Passing payments
October 2019

Visa has been a central player in the growth of plastic payment cards for many years. The company’s Bevan Smith talks about where its future lies.


Reshaad Sha, Liquid Telecom
 
Challenge accepted! 
November 2019

To move beyond its Neotel foundation, Liquid Telecom turned to Reshaad Sha to help turn the business around.


Indi Siriniwasa, Trend Micro

Starting a trend
December 2019/January 2020

Trend Micro’s Indi Siriniwasa believes combatting cyber crime is about much more than end-user education – it’s also about tackling poverty.

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