Six outstanding tech leaders have been shortlisted for the 2026 CIO of the Year Award, with the winner to be revealed on 16 April.
The Wired4Women Awards, in partnership with the Wired4Women Tech Forum and ITWeb Brainstorm, with Telkom as lead sponsor, continue to spotlight the women shaping SA’s technology landscape. Now in its third year, the awards programme recognises excellence across 13 categories, with CIO of the Year standing out as one of the flagship categories.
This award, also sponsored by Telkom, honours an exceptional CIO who has successfully led digital strategy and delivered measurable business outcomes through technology. The finalists chosen for the 2026 edition represent some of the country’s most influential technology leaders, driving digital transformation across industries including banking, retail, healthcare, public sector and youth employment.
The finalists are:
- Hanlie de Bod-Leaf, CIO, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator
- Kim Sim, CIO, Mr Price Group
- Mandi Scott, CIO: digital, data and e-commerce, Standard Bank Group
- Pragashani Reddy, business banking exco: executive director for digital, Absa
- Sylvia Sathekge, CIO, National Health Laboratory Service
- Tsebeletso Mashau, CIO: Africa regions, Standard Bank South Africa
The calibre of nominees reflects the growing influence of women in executive technology roles, where CIOs are increasingly central to business strategy, innovation and operational performance.
Last year’s CIO of the Year winner, Kerusha Kanjee of Investec, has joined this year’s judging panel, alongside Telkom’s CMO Gugu Mthembu, and Wired4Women Tech Forum board members Nomonde White-Ndlovu (CIO: Group Compliance at Absa) and Philile Mkhize, (group COO at Santam Insurance).
The Wired4Women awards programme has once again received hundreds of nominations across all 13 categories, with the selection of finalists and winners following a multi-stage adjudication process.
Audited by Nolands Johannesburg, the next phase in the judging includes interviews with the finalists. The winners will be announced at the Wired4Women Awards gala ceremony on 16 April at the Four Seasons Hotel in Johannesburg.
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