Advertise on podcast: Optimizing - Leading Africa's Digital Future

In this special season of our podcast we talk about "Digital Transformation". In this episode Barry Dwolatzky is in conversation with Mark Harris.

In this special season of our podcast we talk about "Digital Transformation". In this episode Barry Dwolatzky is in conversation with Kent Beck.

In this special season of our podcast we talk about "Digital Transformation". In this episode Barry Dwolatzky is in conversation with Tony Van Der Linden.

Optimizing - Leading Africa's Digital Future is an inter-generational conversation about the digital economy and digital society in Africa. Season 3 will feature conversations led by Prof Barry Dwolatzky and his young co-host with people who have made a huge contribution to the digital world. This episode introduces Season 3.

Professor Tshilidzi Marwala is a South African engineer, AI expert and academic leader. In this conversation with Prof Barry Dwolatzky and Kerryn Gammie he talks about his early days and who passed him the baton in life's metaphoric relay race. He discusses some of the very fascinating work he has done, and then talks about what he would pass on to Kerryn and her generation as their life's journey starts.

Kent Beck is an American software engineer, writer and thought leader. He has been, and remains, one of the most influential figures in the field of software development over the past 20 years. He is best known as the creator of the eXtreme Programming (XP) software development methodology and proponent of Test Driven Development (TDD). In 2001 he was one of 17 signatories of the Agile Manifesto that started a movement which revolutionised the world of software development around the world. He first visited South Africa in 2005 as a guest of the JCSE. This initiated a long association between Kent and the software engineering community of South Africa and Africa. In this episode Kent is in discussion with Prof Barry and his co-host Kerryn Gammie. If life is a relay race, what is the baton he will hand over to Kerryn and her generation of Africa’s future digital leaders.

Mteto Nyati, CEO of Altron, is in conversation with Prof Barry Dwolatzky and Kerryn Gammie. Mteto, who previously headed Microsoft SA and MTN SA, shares his thoughts on how to lead and how to inspire those who you lead, in the context of South Africa’s digital economy. He also talks about some of the important lessons he has learnt in his own life journey. In 2019 Mteto became a best-selling author with the release of his book “Betting on a Darkie”. Don’t miss this entertaining and inspiring episode of the Optimizing podcast.

Mark Harris is one of the most respected leaders in the South African digital sector. He entered the sector in 1981 as an engineer at IBM. He remained with IBM for over 30 years rising through the ranks to become Head of IBM SA and then Vice President of business development for the Middle East and Africa region. In 2013 he left IBM to become CEO of Kagiso Media. In 2019 he joined Altron Nexus as its CEO. Over the years Mark has nurtured and mentored many young South Africans, some of whom have gone on to fill top leadership positions. One of these is Mteto Nyati who featured in one of our previous podcast episodes.

Twenty years ago Pieter de Villiers and his co-founders came up with a tech innovation that was a world first. It literally went on to change the world of digital technology. They launched the company Clickatell which now has offices around the world, including Silicon Valley, although most of its developers still sit in Cape Town. Apart from being a successful South African tech entrepreneur, Pieter has worked really hard to encourage and develop local innovation and entrepreneurship. He is also working on an initiative to grow digital skills in South Africa.

Tim Jenkin is a South African political and social activist and a unique individual. He is the author of the book “Escape from Pretoria” which tells the amazing true story of his escape in the 1970’s from Pretoria's maximum security prison. It was recently released as a movie starring Daniel Radcliffe as Tim. He developed cutting-edge data communication technology in the 1980’s for the ANC’s underground. He is currently involved in Community Exchange which is paving the way for a world without money.

Monica Singer qualified as a Chartered Accountant. After working for the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants and the World Bank, she became CEO of STRATE, a company set up to digitise the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JCSE). She drove this challenging project with great success. In 2015 she left STRATE to become an evangelist for Blockchain, a technology she sees as having the potential to eliminate many forms of financial corruption.

Xoliswa Mahlangu (“Xoli”) works as a Computing Curriculum Developer and Technology Integration Specialist at Future Nation Schools. Her personal mission is to demystify tech and make it more fun and accessible to kids of all ages. She is a Microsoft Certified Innovative Educator Expert and has represented South Africa in the international educator exchange. She was featured as Tech Magazine’s Mover and Shaker and has spoken at numerous youth and women in tech events. Xoli has an MEng in software engineering from Wits University.