GET TO KNOW
“
IF I WAS A TIME
TRAVELLER I
WOULD GO BACK
AND MAKE SURE
THAT I TRUSTED
MY INSTINCTS.
continent. Additionally, businesses have
limited budgets and appetites to bring
on entire security teams, consisting of
analysts, researchers, security specialists
and ethical hackers. same infrastructure and resources that
international developers take for granted.
This includes high-speed networks and
often the latest hardware is simply beyond
the reach of many African businesses.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside of the office? What changes to your job role have
you seen in the last year and how do
you see these developing in the next
12 months?
The best stress relief is to go for a run. I run
with my wife and we do a minimum of two
half marathons a year. When we run I switch
off any outside stress and focus on that
moment, making sure the pain is not too
intense when we hit the long hills. I also love
to play hockey and spend time with family
and friends whenever there is an opportunity.
If you could go back and change one
career decision, what would it be?
I would trust my gut more. Over the years
some of the primary reasons that we
have had success is due to the instinctive
gut feel around solutions, customers or
methodologies. There have been occasions
when my gut told me that there may be
something wrong with an individual in
relation to our team or a choice on some
pricing option and I went ahead anyway. In
every one of those situations, things did not
turn out well and it caused a great deal of
unnecessary stress and ill feelings. If I was a
time traveller I would go back and make sure
that I trusted my instincts.
I have seen changes driven by technology.
This has meant changes to the way I access
systems and manage my time, and the
roles of the rest of the team at J2 Software.
I have had to empower other members of
the team to get things done that I would
have done myself in the past. In the next
12 months, this will evolve even further as
our cybersecurity centre grows and team
management gets moved out to other
management staff along the way. It is an
exciting time to be at J2 Software and I look
forward to the changes and growth that is
coming our way.
What advice would you offer
somebody aspiring to obtain a
C-level position in your industry?
I honestly believe if you want to be
successful and climb the ladder, you cannot
have an attitude of ‘that’s not my job’.
One must work harder than anybody else.
The truth is that if you get involved and
learn about various parts of the business
you are in, you can pick up how the
various departments run and how it all fits
together. With this insight you can develop
methods to improve and streamline
processes as well as make sure they become
easier and more efficient. n
What are the region-specific
challenges when implementing new
technologies in Africa?
I am of the belief that there are not
enough African developed technology
solutions. This brings about massive
problems in adoption due to several factors.
Firstly, many African businesses lack the
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