Kobus Potgieter

I am a motivated, performance driven, no nonsense,  professional with extensive (+33 years) IT & Business experience (MBA), predominately in IT companies within the Banking and Financial Services Industry, but also in Logistics, Transport, Retail, ISP, MSP, and MNO’s. 

In addition to my 23 years of experience in ICT companies (Operations, Managed and Professional Services, IT Service Management), I have worked with in-house IT teams for six years, served as a consultant for three years, and have 23 years of experience in Management and Senior Leadership roles. I have managed multinational (CEMEA/Aus/UK) and local Technology Teams in the Plan, Build & Run environments. I am a well-rounded business and technology person. 

Additionally, I possess expertise in best practice Technology frameworks (ITIL, COBIT, Agile/SDLC, BPM), Digitization, Cybersecurity Management, Operations Management, Business Process Management & Optimization, Strategy Management, including Business Architecture and Turnaround Strategies. I have an aptitude for people, optimizing performance and creating motivational environments. I belief in people first, then process and technology.

As a person, I thrive in high-pressure and fast-paced situations, I strive for positive results through the application of my leadership & people skills, business acumen and values driven character. 

My leadership skills entail creating shared visions, leading the way, empower people and always challenge the status quo i.e., never get complacent. I am purpose-led and value-driven leader.  I have successfully led small and large-, national and multinational, multidisciplinary teams across several industries. 

My leadership, ambition, performance drive, problem solving, and analytical thinking strengths have enabled my professional growth and success. I believe that my professional background makes me an ideal candidate for this opportunity.

Kobus has extensive IT executive management experience in national and multinational companies, such as Visa, GijimaAst (Absa/Barclays account), Unisys, Capfin and Lieben Group. Amongst his total of 33 years of work experience, 23 years were in technology leadership roles, 25  years in ICT companies, 6 years in-house IT and 2 years in business and technology consulting. Kobus has experience in the following sectors: banking, financial services, technology (ICT), transportation and logistics, mobile network operators, manufacturing, ISP, MSP and retail.

Kobus headed up technology and business teams, managing end to end technology operations, developing technology and business strategies, establishing stable and mature IT operational environments (IT Operations & Service Delivery/DevOps), and leading turnaround and digital transformation initiatives. His expertise also encompasses enterprise IT governance and management, IT best practices (COBIT, ITIL, AGILE, BPM, RPA, DevOps, ITSM), Cybersecurity management, people management, organizational development, operational excellence, and people change management.

As a purpose-led, value-driven, skilled leader, he led small to large (plus 600 people including 22 managers), cross-functional, multidisciplinary, multinational teams (AP&CEMEA) for the implementation and support of technology functions on a national and global basis. In addition to managing functional areas like HR, Finance, Legal, PMO and Operations, Kobus has strong business acumen. Awarded for enhancing technology capability maturity, service excellence, creating and inspiring peak performing teams and for encouraging creative and motivational work environments.

MBA - Masters in Business Administration