T-Systems CEO Mardia van der Walt-Korsten has been named the Computer Society of SA (CSSA) IT Personality of the Year.
The award, which recognises an IT professional who has made a significant contribution to the industry, is presented by the CSSA, in association with ITWeb, Gartner Africa and the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Van der Walt-Korsten said in accepting her award that this marked the rewarding end of a three-year journey for T-Systems. "When I arrived at T-Systems, I set out to create an IT company with soul. People said you can`t put soul and IT in the same sentence, let alone build a company with soul. We did it."
Highlighting the need for a change in the way companies do business, Van der Walt-Korsten said: "We did it by being conscious of the context which we operate in, by having hope that we can achieve our goals and by doing it with empathy."
The four other finalists were: UCS Group CEO John Bright, Integr8 IT MD Rob Sussman, Synthasite CEO Vinny Lingham and Datacentrix executive chairman Gary Morolo.
IT Visionary Award
Rabelani Dagada, manager of the ICT and knowledge management division at Royal Bafokeng Administration, was named IT Visionary of the Year.
The award recognises exceptional leadership and significant contributions to the development and growth of communities through IT.
Dagada hailed his award as recognition of a new phenomenon in ICT, saying: "A tribal authority is spending resources on IT products and I`m excited that the work being done in rural communities is being recognised."
He promised to continue sharing his experience and knowledge with students: "Now with this award I am going to become an ICT evangelist and share my knowledge with other communities."
The two other finalists were Poppy Tshabalala, CIO at the Department of Trade and Industry; and Anthony Olivier, head of information security strategy and architecture at Standard Bank.
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