SA's technology leadership has achieved global acclaim at the Global CIO Forum’s World CIO 200 Grand Finale 2026, hosted recently in Colombo, Sri Lanka. SA was recognised as a champion Global CIO Forum country chapter, alongside Indonesia and the UK.
The World CIO 200 is an annual event hosted by the Global CIO Forum, an international non-profit collaboration ecosystem that unites C-level business and technology leaders across 60 countries.
Twelve countries competed for the champion Global CIO Forum country chapter title and associated Gold Status accreditation.
Team South Africa’s achievement followed a structured global programme in which participating countries were assessed across a range of key performance indicators (KPIs), specifically how they link technology and innovation to four pillars: community, health, leadership and human.
The Global CIO Forum explained the relevance of each pillar:
- Community: Connecting CIOs, technology leaders and stakeholders to strengthen SA’s technology ecosystem and support local communities.
- Health: Promoting wellbeing, resilience and sustainable leadership.
- Leadership: Mentoring emerging technology leaders and strengthening the CIO community.
- Human: Keeping people central to technological innovation.
SA distinguished itself through consistent participation, collaboration and delivery across the programme, ultimately achieving Country Gold Status, Global Champion recognition and Book of Titans publication, which brings together CIO and technology leadership voices from across the global community and captures their leadership journeys, experiences and perspectives.
This accreditation recognises the country chapter’s benchmarks in local tech leadership, the calibre of C-level technology leadership, its contribution to international discussion on themes including cyber security, AI and digital governance, and its execution of regional activities including summits, as per the country leadership charter.
The South African chapter's leadership team included Abdul Kader Baba, country president; Henny Schlebusch, VP; and board members Jenny Mohanlall, John Bosco Arends, Darryl Dennis and Prof Pete Janse van Vuuren.
Kader Baba said: “This recognition belongs to Team South Africa. It demonstrates the calibre of technology leadership we have in our country and what becomes possible when we collaborate, share knowledge and work towards a common purpose.
“South Africa has made its mark on the global technology stage, and our responsibility now is to translate that global recognition into meaningful local impact.
“The achievement also reinforces the evolving role of the CIO. Technology leadership today extends beyond managing IT environments and infrastructure. CIOs are increasingly expected to contribute to organisational strategy, digital transformation, innovation, cyber security, artificial intelligence, economic development and societal impact. For SA, this provides an opportunity to use the strength of its technology leadership community to contribute towards addressing challenges such as digital inclusion, skills development, youth empowerment and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.”
Schlebusch added that the strength of the chapter was the willingness of individuals to work collectively.
“Everyone brought something different to the journey – knowledge, experience, ideas, networks, relationships and, importantly, their personal time. The four pillars helped keep us focused on something bigger than achieving a set of KPIs. We were building a community and a platform that could continue creating value long after the awards ceremony ended. The recognition is something Team South Africa can be proud of, but what excites us now is the foundation we have created and what we can build from it in 2027.”
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