The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) has announced the finalists for this year’s IITPSA President’s Awards - among the highest accolades in South Africa’s ICT industry for nearly 40 years.

This year’s awards ceremony will be staged at the end of the IITPSA’s first large-scale IITPSA Workforce Intelligence Conference in Johannesburg on 30 October 2026.

IITPSA President Pearl Pasi notes that this year’s IITPSA President’s Awards event is themed ‘Excellence in ethical digital transformation’, aligning with the IITPSA’s own motto.

She says: “The finalists have been selected after careful adjudication by our panel of judges. We believe that all of them are deserving of recognition for their professionalism and ethical conduct in a fast-transforming digital world. We believe ethical transformation is particularly topical now - as AI transforms workplaces and changes the trajectory of careers in the ICT sector. The future will depend on visionary ICT leaders who are both ethical and adaptable, so we are encouraged to see these qualities reflected in the 2026 cohort of finalists.” 

The 2026 finalists are:

The IT Personality Award - which 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.

• Dr. Maiendra Moodley, Pr.CIO and Senior Analyst at Wikistrat. He is a strategist, futurist, author and technology leader.
• Dr. Makaziwe Makamba, Founder and Executive Director of Rise Science. Dr Makamba is a board member of ECDC, HRSEC Chairperson, Audit and Risk Committee member and BICT advisory board at UMP, a board member of TownshipTech and CyberM8, and also serves as a council member at Tshwane University of Technology.
• Prof. Topside Ehleketani Mathonsi, Associate Professor and HoD at the Tshwane University of Technology. He holds a Doctor of Computing in Information Technology and specialises in cybersecurity, wireless and mobile networks, IoT, cloud and edge computing, smart infrastructure, and emerging technologies.
• Tando Luyaba, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Information Regulator, where he leads ICT strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity and technology-enabled service delivery.

The Visionary CIO Award - which 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.

• Kershnee Ballack, Chief Information Officer: Workforce and Workplace Enablement at  Old Mutual Limited, who owns AI Workforce Enablement for Old Mutual and leads the organisation's Workday AI roadmap and agentic AI programme.
• Dr. Sylvia Sathekge, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). She also serves as a Non-Executive Director of SENTECH SOC Ltd, 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.
• Adrian Van Eeden, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Gordon Institute of Business Science, where he pioneered modern IT functions and architected a resilient digital ecosystem strategy that smoothly accelerated the institution’s transition to a fully digitally enabled organisation.  
• Tando Luyaba, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Information Regulator, where he leads ICT strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity and technology-enabled service delivery.

The Technology Excellence Award - 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, Head of Automation and AI Transformation at Standard Bank Insurance Brokers (Investments and Asset Management), whose work includes leading the development and productionisation of Generative AI solutions that have reduced thousands of hours of manual work. 
• Sternly Simon, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Cyber Development, a cybersecurity and technology company.
• Azwihangwisi Sigama, Enterprise Architecture Manager at Eskom Group Technology. Her portfolio includes unified communication, cloud adoption, IT/OT convergence, AI and unbundling & legal separation.
• Manchane Nepo Seroka, Head of Finance Systems & Projects at Afrox, who uses technology to rethink how finance operates, reduce  operational overheads, and improve process efficiency.
• Tando Luyaba, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Information Regulator, where he leads ICT strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity and technology-enabled service delivery.

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.

• Jason Bygate, Chief Executive Officer at Capacitate Social Solutions, which has developed digital platforms, monitoring systems and technology to support NGOs, government, development partners and communities.  
• Pinky Thandeka Ndlozi, Founder and CEO at COMMSHUB, which brings learners, educators, women and youth from underserved communities into the IT and STEM ecosystem.
• Dr. Makaziwe Makamba, Founder and Executive Director at Rise Science.Dr Makamba is a board member of ECDC, HRSEC Chairperson, Audit and Risk Committee member and BICT advisory board at UMP, a board member of TownshipTech and CyberM8, and also serves as a council member at Tshwane University of Technology.
• Mpho Sekati, Founder & CEO at Abuti Spinach, an initiative that combines agriculture, digital technology and community development.
• The Directors at Bizmod, Anne-Marié Pretorius, Jessica Tandy and Seugnet van den Berg.  Through the Bizmod Women Empowerment Trust, established to champion women in ICT, they have supported initiatives that encourage girls into STEM, including robotics education and ICT skills development.

The Dynamism in ICT Youth Award - which recognises a person younger than 25 for exceptional potential or achievement in ICT. 

• Lebohang Mate, Product Owner at Transunion Credit Bureau, who works to leverage data-driven insights to create value for businesses and consumers across the continent.
• Palisa Jobela, Software Engineer at Standard Bank Group and the Founder & Host of ME 2 (YOU)TH, a youth-focused platform to inspire and equip young people.
• Elihle Amahle Stali, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Spectacles4TheBlind SA - an assistive-technology company developing multilingual AI-powered smart glasses.
• Relebogile Lebitsa, Tech Enablement Graduate at Ninety One and Co-Founder
• of the Kind Hearts Foundation.

The IITPSA Women in IT Chapter (WIIT) Woman in IT 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.

• Pragashani Reddy, Chief Commercial Officer at Digital Solutions Group (DSG), where she leads commercial strategy, innovation, partnerships and growth.
• Dr. Xolile Sibande, Chief Information Security Officer: Banking and Financial Services - a seasoned Information and Cyber Security expert, public speaker, board advisor, non-executive director, mentor and an academic.
• Prof. Noluntu Mpekoa, Associate Professor at the Institute for Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship (ISCC) and Deputy Chair of the IITPSA SIGCyber.
• Denise Mukozho, Senior Business and Product Delivery Lead at Bizmod and Chairperson of the IITPSA Women in IT Chapter.
• Thenzie Stewart, Senior Manager: Financial Systems at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). She also serves on the board of the Eersterust Welfare Organisation for the Aged, and is actively involved in initiatives advancing women, youth and inclusion in technology.

Finalists in the IITPSA Member Ambassador Award category are:

Amakan Elisha Agoni, Lecturer at AdvTech and Emeris/RCI

Musa Salmamza, Information Security Manager at NTT Data Inc

Kholofelo Halefose, Chief Advisor: IT and OT Cybersecurity at Eskom

Saba Rahimi, Pr.CIO

The winners will be named at a gala event at Emperor’s Palace on 30 October, as the culmination of the IITPSA Workforce Intelligence Conference and exhibition. This full-day event will present the findings of the 2026 IITPSA Skills Survey, which will assess the changing state of South African ICT skills supply and demand. This year’s survey will probe the impact of AI on the ICT jobs market. During the Workforce Intelligence Conference, employers, practitioners and industry experts will deep dive into how AI is changing ICT workforces and workplaces, and the skills ICT professionals should be developing in future.