A personable, analytical and cost-conscious senior-level executive with extensive experience in technology leadership. A seasoned speaker at global and local conferences such as the ScienceLogic Customer Symposium (Washington DC, 2017), the IT Africa Leadership Summit (Cape Town, 2017), Gartner DCIOM Summit (London, 2016) to name a few. Enjoys being able to share experience and insights with peers.

As the Managing Director of SqwidNet, Phathizwe Malinga is responsible for building an IoT
connectivity business in South Africa in partnership with International IoT giant SIGFOX.
In addition to his Managing Director role, he will continue overlooking the solutions division for
SqwidNet, a fully owned subsidiary of Dark Fibre Africa. Malinga has made a natural transition into
the role of leading SqwidNet because of the various leadership roles he has fulfilled over the years.
He is no stranger to the role of a strategist, as he consulted with both Max Healthcare and Life
Healthcare Group in his previous position with the organisation. He has been involved in the
information technology and telecommunication industry for over two decades, having held senior
management level positions.
Before joining SqwidNet, Malinga was the Head of Application Strategy at Life Healthcare Group, and
he was in charge of the IT Application strategy and Software Development for the group. Phathizwe
completed his Executive MBA from the Graduate School of Business, Cape Town. He continues to
guest lecture with the university and he sits on the board of Bizmod Consulting. Malinga is a
Singularity University Faculty Candidate.

Dr Tapiwa Chiwewe is a research manager at IBM Research | Africa where he leads the advanced and applied artificial intelligence group which uses artificial intelligence to develop solutions for some of Africa’s grand challenges whilst making scientific advances. An engineer and researcher of many interests, he has worked in academia and industry, developing commercial products and conducting scientific research in many areas that include mining, healthcare, security, and the environment.

Gavin recently joined Sanlam Global Investment Solutions ( SGIS) to head up business development in South Africa and to formulate the messaging on Sanlam’s artificial intelligence investment management capability. He has a strong Financial Services and offshore banking background, having worked with international brands, including: Standard Bank, Old Mutual International and the Virgin Group. He has a particular interest in the use of technology and how it can be leveraged to drive business growth.

Gavin holds a Master of Business Administration and is currently pursuing his PhD in Corporate Governance.

Brett StClair, Ex-Googler turned digital banker and now CEO of Siatik. Brett is a leading mind on Digital transformation.

With a curriculum canon that spans 2 decades of leading Google Mobile, Youtube, Google Display, Google’s Cloud Computing across Africa and more recently rebuilding Barclays Africa Digital Business

Raluca is an MSc engineer (ICT), (BUCH) and Master in Innovation Studies (WITS), with a degree in Competitive Intelligence (UP) and Theory of Change Studies (Stanford University CA).

Her activities in technical innovation field are in areas of innovation selection, innovation due diligence & audits and innovation management from idea and IP to the market. Her portfolio of innovations contains projects from bio-science and alternative energy to artificial intelligence and robotics. She participated as a general mentor in GCIP program supported by Cleantech International, UNIDO and Standford University, CA since 2013.

Yusuf has a Bachelors degree in Accounting, a postgraduate in diploma in Accounting and a postgraduate Advanced Taxation certification. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession, having served articles at MSGM Masuku Jeena (later acquired by Pricewaterhousecoopers).

He worked as an employees’ tax consultant at Ernst & Young and headed up the remuneration department at the MTN Group. He lectured on the MBA programme at Mancosa. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). Yusuf is currently the Chief Executive of the Association Executive Network of Southern Africa (AENSA) that develops sustainable regulators, professional bodies, business chambers and industry associations.

CEO & Founder, Cortex Logic; President & Founder of Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa (MIIA)

Dr Jacques Ludik is a smart technology entrepreneur, Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert, investor and ecosystem builder with a Ph.D. in Computer Science (AI) and 25+ years’ experience in AI & Data Science and its applications. He is currently, amongst other roles, the Founder & CEO of Cortex Logic and Founder & President of the Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa (MIIA) and has also founded Bennit.AI, Mosaic, SynerG and CSense Systems (Africa’s first AI company that was sold to a multi-national company, specifically General Electric in 2011). Apart from his executive management responsibilities in these companies, he was previously Vice President Data Science & Chief Data Officer at Jumo, Director and Big Data & Analytics Leader at General Electric and Senior Lecturer & Researcher at Stellenbosch University.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacques-ludik-0b22861/

@jacquesludik

Presentation Topic: Transforming Business with Artificial Intelligence

What AI can do for your business and how to prioritize where to invest on AI? What are the different technologies you can use to apply AI to your business?