Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 37 | Page 71

GET TO KNOW... On the lighter side of things, we ask the industry experts what makes them tick. . . . Roy Alves, New Business Sales Director, Mimecast W What would you describe as your most memorable achievement? vitally important to set a steady course for others to follow. How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office? Without a doubt, the satisfaction of witnessing the growth and development of people under my leadership. When people in my team go on to manage large teams or projects, both locally and abroad, it gives me an enormous sense of pride and affirmation that I have been successful in my role. I believe that one of the most important roles of leadership is to facilitate and support a platform of learning and development. What do you think is the current hot technology talking point? I have a passion for extreme sports. If I’m not doing extreme mountain biking you might find me doing crazy enduro motorbike riding on an off-the-beaten-track mountain. Otherwise you may find me sitting in a quiet room in my house hiding away from the kids with a good book. What first made you think of a career in technology? My father was an electronic engineer so, from an early age, I was exposed to a bunch of electronic gadgets. We had a family computer called the Commodore 64 which had 64Kb of RAM, which was huge back then! I spent most of my spare time coding or playing games. I think the bug bit in those early years and I went on to program in Cobol & RPG 400 in an AS400 world. What style of management philosophy do you employ with your current position? Lead by example. I have always believed that we have a responsibility to be a combination of manager, coach, mentor and leader. Leadership is about the process of influencing other people’s behaviour, attitude and opinions. As a leader, it is www.intelligentcio.com ‘Autonomous things’. Whether it’s in homes, cars, robots or agriculture, autonomous things use AI to perform tasks traditionally done by humans. The sophistication of the intelligence varies, but all autonomous things use AI to interact more naturally with their environments. A good example of this today is the endless possibility offered by drones. “ I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A COMBINATION OF MANAGER, COACH, MENTOR AND LEADER. INTELLIGENTCIO 71