Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 18 | Page 91

GET TO KNOW... On the lighter side of things, we ask the industry experts what makes them tick. . . . Gys Kappers, CEO of Wyzetalk What would you describe as your most memorable achievement? Landing the AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) account early on, having us build the product and get a business like AGA to use it in a life changing way. To have it continue with us all this time, is one of the most memorable moments. What first made you think of a career in technology? I’ve always been fascinated with the role technology plays in enabling businesses. I started a tech business at the age of 20 called Tradesuite, which allowed organisations (dial up) to manage their online/offline order system before the Internet was ubiquitous and companies used to connect using dial up connections. After that I went in to our family business in concrete masonry, which I grew to a 19 factory national operation. We automated through PLCs, integrated manufacturing output of each factory into a central place so we could manage the raw material input and factory output through a single dashboard. Then during my eMBA at UCT, I became fascinated with systems thinking and social business. I was fortunate to meet a group of people that were looking at developing a social business solution at the time and I was in a position to invest and work on bringing this innovation to Africa. www.intelligentcio.com “ I GIVE PEOPLE SPACE TO GROW AND LEARN, AND COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS WITHOUT IMPOSING A SPECIFIC DIRECTION. How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office? Sport, family time and reading. If you could go back and change one career decision what would it be? In my early 20s, I became a dive master and I was invited to work in the Grand Caymans, but I never took up this opportunity. What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position? I believe in giving my team autonomy. I don’t believe in a hierarchical structure, I give people space to grow and learn, and come up with solutions without imposing a specific direction. What do you think is the current hot technology talking point? Chatbots and artificial intelligence. INTELLIGENTCIO 91