A record number of C-Suite leaders gathered to tackle big issues including education, government, environment and inequality.
On 3 September, Executive Communities brought together over 200 C-suite leaders for the annual Executive Day, held at Melrose Arch. The day was dedicated to connection, knowledge sharing and value creation, centred around the theme “Renewing our social contracts”.
The impactful day commenced with the engaging Mzansi 2035 group discussions, in breakaway rooms, which challenged groups of executives to envision the future of relationships, education, healthcare, and government in South Africa by 2035.
Tiger turnaround
The morning continued with the CEO’s Corner, featuring Tjaart Kruger, CEO of Tiger Brands, and Joël Roerig, MD at Executive Communities, who shared insights on current top-of-mind issues for CEOs. Reflecting on Tiger Brands’ turnaround strategy, Tjaart highlighted the critical roles of simplicity, reduced silos, and streamlined processes in driving execution and speeding up market entry.
He further stressed that future leaders must deeply understand technology but not be defined by it, advocating for the continuous honing of leadership skills to inspire and motivate teams, especially in an AI-driven world. Tjaart also emphasised empowering people, fostering a culture of trust, and enabling critical thinking and ownership among employees.
Leadership and responsibility
The discourse then shifted to the future of corporate leadership and responsibility, led by renowned business leader and University of Free State chancellor Prof Bonang Mohale, alongside MD at DSM Advisory Dolores Mashishi. Bonang passionately advocated for job creation, asserting that sustainable employment is fundamental to addressing South Africa’s societal challenges.
Bonang underscored that businesses cannot thrive as islands of prosperity amidst a sea of poverty, urging a collective focus on national productivity and competitiveness.
A spirited debate followed on the ownership of digital transformation, featuring Sun International CIO Pragasen Pather and Nedbank Group CFO Mike Davis. While Pragasen said he initially considered digital transformation solely the CIO’s domain, he now likens it to a newborn, requiring nurturing from HR for people and change management, IT for risk and cybersecurity, and finance for accountability and ROI assessment of tech investments.
Mike echoed this sentiment, emphasising that digital transformation is an ongoing journey demanding input from all key stakeholders and acknowledging the rapid evolution of technology.
A high standard
The theme of collaboration continued with an executive masterclass from Standard Bank Group’s award-winning exco team, including group CIO Jörg Fischer, group CFVO Arno Daehnke, and group chief people and culture officer Sharon Taylor. With a combined 86 years at the organisation, the trio highlighted that a clear business vision forms the bedrock for technology alignment.
Fischer advised CIOs to maintain a commercial mindset, ensuring technology initiatives are driven by business needs, deliver value, and align with priorities to reduce friction at the executive level. Sharon added that cultivating a culture and values that inherently encourage collaboration is crucial, as human behavior cannot be simply codified. And Arno reiterated that for Standard Bank, value is driven through client-centricity, risk and compliance, operational excellence enabled by technology, and people, ultimately leading to strong financial and societal impact.
Breakaway again
Another round of breakaway sessions delved into various aspects of the future of work and society. The Talent Reckoning session, with KFC Africa’s chief people & transformation officer Nolo Thobejane, Ctrack CFO Natasha Gomes, and African Risk Capacity’s head of finance and investment Yusuf Boadiat, explored the nuances of multi-generational teams.
The Hybrid Equation session, featuring Santam’s executive head of human capital Norah Sehunoe, Stefanutti Stocks GM of group IT Kevin Wilson, and BAIC Automobile SA’s CFO Anele Geza, addressed line management, hybrid working models, and productivity, with Norah emphasising the importance of data and managers understanding daily productivity to make informed decisions about hybrid models.
An engaging and rarely addressed conversation tackled how menopause affects management efficacy in the boardroom. Non-executive director and founder of Brave Inflexions Dr Claudelle von Eck and gynaecologist and endoscopic surgeon Dr Natalia Novikova led this crucial discussion.
The final breakaway session, Lonely At The Top, brought together Old Mutual Insure’s executive human capital and facilities management Palesa Ntoagae, EY global controlling transformation leader Ajith Haripaul, and the Auditor General of South Africa’s CTO Phila Ndarana to discuss the unique challenges of executive leadership and the need for support networks.
The full day of high-level networking and knowledge-sharing concluded with a generative AI summary by Flux Trends head of content and facilitator Tumelo Mojapelo, bringing to life the Mzansi 2035 visions crafted earlier, followed by networking over drinks, sparking new connections among CHROs, CFOs, and CIOs.
Executive Day was made possible with the support of Principal Partners: Cassava Technologies, Entelect, Huawei, iOCO, MakwaIT, Marsh, Old Mutual Corporate South Africa, and Regenesys Education. Executive Partners included Anchor Capital, BDO South Africa, Coupa, Discovery, Equinix, FranklinCovey, HCLTech, Jem, LRMG, Sanlam, Oracle, STANLIB, and Workday. And the Gordon Institute of Business Science was an Associate Partner. This extensive collaboration underscored the collective commitment to advancing leadership and innovation across South Africa’s C-suite communities.