IITPSA names ICT leading lights as 2026 President’s Awards winners

Kershnee Ballack, Chief Information Officer Workforce and Workplace Enablement at Old Mutual, and Dr Sylvia Sathekge, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the National Health.

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The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) has named a cohort of leading ICT decision-makers as the winners of this year’s IITPSA President’s Awards.

The IITPSA President’s Awards, for nearly 40 years regarded as a highlight on the South African ICT sector’s annual calendar, were handed over at a gala event at the end of the IITPSA first-ever Workforce Intelligence Conference at Emperor’s Palace in Johannesburg, where the IITPSA ICT Skills Survey was officially launched.

IITPSA President Pearl Pasi says the winners are all shining examples of excellence in ethical digital transformation, which is the theme of this year’s awards and the IITPSA’s own motto.

“As we have learned from the findings of the 2026 IITPSA ICT Skills Survey, the 2026 IITPSA President’s Awards and the IITPSA Workforce Intelligence Conference come at the start of a period of dramatic change and upheaval in the ICT world,” Pasi says. “Navigating the changes brought about by AI will require strong ICT leaders who are ethical, adaptable and innovative. We are proud to see those qualities in this year’s winners.”

Tando Luyaba, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Information Regulator, won the coveted IT Personality Award. This award recognises a highly respected and outstanding ICT professional who has made a significant technical or academic contribution to the industry, who has been successful in building a highly respected IT organisation or business, and/or who has made a major contribution to the IT profession over a number of years.

Thando Luyaba, IT Personality 2026.

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Luyaba has received numerous accolades for his ICT strategy, digital transformation, cyber security and technology expertise and leadership. He has played a central role in transforming the Information Regulator’s technology environment and expanding the use of digital platforms to improve organisational efficiency, regulatory services and stakeholder access.

Joint winners were named for the Visionary CIO Award this year: Kershnee Ballack, Chief Information Officer: Workforce and Workplace Enablement at Old Mutual, and Dr Sylvia Sathekge, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). This award honours a CIO who has demonstrated visionary leadership in using IT to support, grow and transform business and/or who has established best practice in implementing technology solutions in an organisation.

With over 20 years’ experience leading large-scale digital transformation across Africa's financial services sector, Ballack is responsible for the technology that powers the daily working life of more than 30 000 employees and 40 000 devices across 12 African countries, spanning Workday Human Capital Management, Oracle Payroll, Microsoft 365, ServiceNow, and enterprise observability.

With over 25 years’ experience in ICT and leadership roles, Sathekge is responsible for developing and executing ICT strategy, strengthening digital capabilities, enhancing cyber security and enabling technology-driven transformation across the NHLS. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director of SENTECH, Chairperson of the Mpumalanga Provincial Treasury Audit Committee, represents South Africa in the Africa Internet Governance Forum, and is a Professor of Practice affiliated with the University of Johannesburg.

Faheem Ballim, Head of Automation and AI Transformation at Standard Bank Insurance Brokers, won the 2026 Technology Excellence Award. This award is presented to a person or team who has made exceptional or innovative use of technology for an organisation and/or who has exhibited technological excellence that has delivered measurable benefit for business/the SA economy.

Faheem Ballim is a technology and artificial intelligence leader with over 10 years of experience delivering technology, data, automation and AI solutions across financial services, energy and natural resources, consumer and retail, and the public sector.

The Social Responsibility/Community Award – presented to a person, team or project that delivers the benefits of IT on a not-for-profit basis into the community or brings the community into the IT space – was awarded to Pinky Thandeka Ndlozi. Ndlozi is a multi-award-winning South African STEM educator, coding and robotics specialist, digital inclusion advocate and Founder and CEO of COMMSHUB. COMMSHUB is a non-profit initiative dedicated to bridging the digital divide by bringing learners, educators, women and youth from underserved communities into the IT and STEM ecosystem.

The Dynamism in ICT Youth Award, which recognises a person younger than 25 for exceptional potential or achievement in ICT, went to Elihle Amahle Stali, founder and CEO of Spectacles4TheBlind SA.

Inspired by his late grandmother, who was blind, Stali started his work on assistive devices for blind and low-vision people in 2019. His solution uses AI and computer vision to interpret a user's surroundings and provide directional voice guidance, with particular emphasis on African language accessibility. His work has been recognised through the EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity, GIBS Festival of Ideas, Standard Bank Kasi SME programme and international innovation platforms such as the LEAP Startup East Top 150.

The IITPSA Woman in Excellence Award, which honours professional excellence, ethical leadership, mentorship and a commitment to transforming the ICT sector, particularly in promoting the visibility and participation of women, was awarded to Pragashani Reddy, Chief Commercial Officer at Digital Solutions Group (DSG).

Reddy is Six Sigma-certified professional, who has built a distinguished career across all tier one South African banks. She has a track record of designing, developing and successfully bringing multiple customer, product, process and digital innovations to market.

Kholofelo Halefose, a Cybersecurity Chief Advisor, won this year’s IITPSA Member Ambassador Award for her contributions to the IITPSA’s Gauteng Chapter, Cybersecurity Special Interest Group (SIG), AI and Robotics Special Interest Group, and Women in IT Chapter, where she drives initiatives to promote growth, collaboration, innovation and diversity within the technology sector.

Tony van der Linden, CIO and head of research and development at BBD, was named a Fellow of the IITPSA, and Prof Riana Steyn, Full Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of Pretoria's EBIT faculty, was awarded an IITPSA/Engineer IT Distinguished Service in ICT Award.