VIDEO: ITWeb honours top CIOs of 2026
Transnet’s Pandelani Munyai and Absa’s Jochem Melis win the public and private sector categories at the 2026 ITWeb Brainstorm CIO Awards, recognising their leadership in digital transformation.
The ITWeb Brainstorm CIO Awards 2026 recognized top CIOs from public and private sectors. Pandelani Munyai, Transnet's group CIO, won the public sector award, while Jochem Melis, CIO of Absa, secured the private sector accolade. Theo Mabaso from Sanlam received an honorable mention in the private sector category. The awards ceremony took place at the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff in Johannesburg, organized in partnership with MTN Business, First Distribution, and Microsoft.
Adrian Hinchcliffe, ITWeb's editor-in-chief, expressed satisfaction with the diversity of organizations among the finalists, noting their adaptability to client and citizen demands. Munyai highlighted Transnet's digital transformation, including the shift from legacy infrastructure to cloud platforms and automation that reduced manual processes.
He emphasized the role of employees and leadership in the organization's progress. Melis, appreciating the collective effort behind Absa's digital transformation, praised the commitment and ambition of his team. The other public sector finalists were Maletsema Phofu, Sylvia Sathekge, Tandile Stuurman, and Tumelo Zwane, while the private sector finalists were Assaad Honein, Sne Dlamini, Strini Mudaly, and Werner Leithgöb.
The 2025 awards were won by Khomotso Molabe, group CIO for personal and private banking at Standard Bank, and Tando Luyaba, CIO of the Information Regulator, who returned as judges for this year's event.
Written by urgent.news from ITWeb's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
