GET TO KNOW...
On the lighter side of things, we ask the
industry experts what makes them tick. . . .
Indi Siriniwasa,
Vice President Sub-Saharan
Africa at Trend Micro
D
Describe your current job role and the
parts that are somewhat challenging?
My current job role is Vice President for Sub-
Saharan Africa which means I am the Business
Unit lead for the entire region. I moved to
Africa just over a year-and-a-half ago from
a role within Trend Micro in Australia. I am
based in South Africa and there are a lot
of similarities between Australia and South
Africa, culturally and business wise.
“
THERE IS SO
MUCH NEW
INNOVATION
HAPPENING
AROUND US.
more important. Business on the
continent has been good to us, but
to succeed you need to understand that
the business flow in each country is very
different. The biggest challenge with Africa
is that the business mechanics can change
at any time, it is not a predictable flow of
business like a western economy.
When you look back at your
career what has been the most
memorable achievement?
Career wise what really drives me is
business transformation – this is what I love
and keeps me doing what I do.
My most memorable achievement in my
Trend Micro career to date is moving the
needle in the Australian business.
I was able to put the mechanics in place
to move it from number four in the market
back into the number one position for
security in the region. I achieved this by
growing the staff and the revenue – driving
the right behaviours with the right people.
I am enjoying building the Trend Micro Sub-
Saharan business in the same way.
What made you think of a career
in technology?
I like gadgets. As a kid, I loved making
things. I studied electronics and electrical
engineering. I was an engineer for a long
time, and it was great. So yes, that’s it, I like
gadgets and that is what led me to IT.
What style of management
philosophy do you employ at your
current position?
Definitely not command and control. I
don’t like central command positions where
From a business point of view, there are a
few challenges we see across the countries
in the region. The different countries
across Sub-Saharan Africa have different
economies, business dynamics and even
business flow. As an example, South African
business growth has slowed over the last
year where others are growing.
From our point of view, cybersecurity
is still seen as an important business
investment and as countries regulate more
across the continent, it is becoming even
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