Financial services provider, Ithala SOC Limited, has made three key appointments, that of Chief Information Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Company Secretary. These appointments were made to bolster the company’s journey of growth, transformation and impact on its clients, communities, and the country.
At the centre of Ithala SOC Limited’s strategy lies advanced governance structures and processes, together with quality and risk management approaches. It is against this backdrop that the company has employed these experts – who impressively understand the financial services industry. This strategic move and appointment of professionals with extensive experience in the world of banking forms a part of key goals on Ithala’s journey to become a fully-fledged bank with a banking licence.
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Sibongiseni Phakathi has been appointed Chief Information Officer.
He has a Masters in Engineering: Msc Eng (Computer Engineering) from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Phakathi is also doing his final year towards a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).
With over a decade of extensive experience in constructing responsive IT organisations to maximise user experience, Phakathi has led and implemented cutting-edge IT solutions. Before joining Ithala SOC Limited, he was the Head of IT at Ubank since 2015. There, he championed the delivery of applications and ensured that they meet established requirements through the promotion and nurturing of a stable application environment.
In his new role, he will oversee IT architecture to ensure that it is aligned with the Ithala SOC Limited’s strategy and ultimately warrants the attainment of business requirements. Additionally, he will provide expert advice with regards to business planning cycles, direct the IT project management function, and foster the implementation and maintenance of an approach aimed at applying innovation to offer new solutions and products.
CHIEF RISK OFFICER
Brenda van der Lingen has been appointed Chief Risk Officer.
She has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Oxford Brookes University, a Diploma in Business Management, as well as a Diploma in Financial Management both from Damelin. She has more than 20 years’ banking experience, entailing the development, implementation, and management of risk policies, frameworks and projects that control business risks to secure sustained revenue specifically in the SADC region.
In June 2012, she joined Nedbank in Namibia as Chief Risk Officer, where she was accountable for the end-to-end risk management operations of the organisation including the integration of risk concepts into the corporate strategy planning, and risk identification and mitigation activities in terms of the Nedbank Group’s policies and frameworks.
In 2015, she later moved across within the Nedbank Group to become Head of Enterprise Risk Management – where she pioneered Enterprise Risk Management Reporting development and implementation of processes and procedures, awareness sessions to integrate risk management into the business.
While the emphasis in her career has been on credit control and management, she has also been exposed to global business and foreign exchange.
COMPANY SECRETARY
Nomusa Cebile Mzimela has been appointed Company Secretary.
An admitted Attorney of the High Court of Cape Town, she has an LLB degree, Post-Graduate Certificate in Compliance Management, Post Graduate Certificate in Professional Legal Training, and a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management and Public Administration.
In January 2019, she joined Habib Overseas Bank Limited as Company Secretary, Compliance and Corporate Governance Consultant. In that role, she advised Directors on their duties and responsibilities. Her other role entailed reporting on all legislative amendments, updates relating to company secretarial and governance issues, and ensure they are appropriately communicated to all relevant parties.
Her last role before joining Ithala SOC Limited was with Cross Boarder Road Transport Agency, where her title was Senior Board Road Transport Agency. From her previous work experience, she has worked in partnership with the Head of Compliance Department, Head of Risk Management and Head of Internal Audit in overseeing and monitoring the corporate governance in the bank.
Ithala CEO, Dr Thulani Vilakazi, deputy chairman of Ithala SOC Limited commented: “We are enthusiastic to have these highly-experienced executives on board and welcome them to the company. Their deep knowledge of the financial services space will drive our growth and expansion strategies. We certainly look forward to enjoying the benefits of the wealth experience and expertise they will contribute to our Exco.”
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