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Peter Alkema wins Visionary CIO 2016

Kirsten Doyle
By Kirsten Doyle, ITWeb contributor.
Johannesburg, 24 Nov 2016
Peter Alkema, CIO of Business Banking at FNB.
Peter Alkema, CIO of Business Banking at FNB.

Peter Alkema, CIO of Business Banking at First National Bank (FNB), has been named this year's Visionary CIO winner.

His win was announced at the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) President's Awards, held at Montecasino in Sandton, this morning. The award was presented by the IITPSA, in association with ITWeb, the Gordon Institute of Business Science and Gartner Africa.

Now in its ninth year, the 2016 Visionary CIO Award recognises an executive who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in using technology to support and grow business.

Chief influencing officer

In their citation, the judges said Alkema firmly believes leadership translates vision into achievement, envisioning the role of the CIO as the chief influencing officer, emphasising that true leaders serve their teams and exercise the power of leadership with great discretion.

They added that under his guidance, FNB Business Banking has built a market-leading banking sales platform, and designed the FNB CodeFest to drive internal technology innovation.

"Alkema believes there are enough ideas to solve the world's problems by having the right connections, and he has made it his mission to create these connections," said the judges.

Alkema said: "Thank you very much. It's a huge privilege to be up here, and it's a massive honour to be here with the other finalists. This makes it a fantastic year in my career. All credit today must go to the 4 000 IT professionals across FNB and I accredit them with their part in our vision.

"I'm passionate about the IT industry and the role we play in leading the teams throughout the organisation, and am passionate about professionalising the IT career. I'm also passionate about building great software internally, and building sustainable architectures.

"I look forward to playing the role of this year's winner, and I hope I can live up to the legacy Peter du Plooy has left."

Winning formula

Presenting the award, last year's winner, Engen CIO Peter du Plooy, said: "Last year was a different feeling and experience, with the anticipation of being a finalist, and feeling honoured to be selected."

Speaking about the past year, Du Plooy said it started off with introspection and the acknowledgement of the contribution that has been made. "Knowledge-sharing becomes paramount, and I had a number of requests to speak that needed to be balanced with my workload."

One of the things Du Plooy has noticed, is a focus on digitisation and digital. "The oil and gas industry tends to lag slightly; it is not as forward as financial services, retail or healthcare. This year, our parent company started integrating digital into their business strategy. I was part of that team, and helped develop that strategy. Within our own organisation in SA, we've seen far more emphasis on cost containment; crude prices have not recovered. Part of that was to revisit processes within the organisation, to see where we can apply digital and automation."

Reflecting on what he's done, Du Plooy said one of the great moments was being able to thank the institute, partners and peers. "The recognition from my peer group is phenomenal; it definitely helps keep me motivated and has increased my passion for the industry."

In the running

Alkema competed against nine other top CIOs: Ashley Veasey, CIO and chief digital officer, Barclays Africa Group; Brenda Niehaus, group CIO, Standard Bank; Jamie Whittaker, chief digital officer, Discovery Holdings; Len de Villiers, group CIO, Telkom; Libisi Maphanga, CIO, Independent Electoral Commission; Ridwaan Bardien, CIO of SANBS; Sean Maritz, CIO of Eskom; Thagaran Govender, CIO of Mercantile Bank; and Travis Dewing, CIO of Netcare.

Tony Parry, CEO of IITPSA, says the institute focuses heart and soul on growing the level of professionalism in the industry, and is celebrating 59 years of proudly SA service to its members. "I believe we are the third oldest body of our type in the world, and have 7 000 current members."

He added the awards are the longest standing and most prestigious IT awards in SA, recognising and celebrating the outstanding achievements of those who have set a high standard in the ICT industry.

Ulandi Exner, president of IITPSA, said: "We need to celebrate and honour the achievements of our peers. Like many industries, ICT can be a thankless task. Let's thank our peers and show appreciation for everything that happens behind the scenes."

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