Fred Swanepoel

When Fred Swanepoel retires at the end of June, he jokes that he plans to try his hand at surfing. Swanepoel may not actually be hitting the waves, but the comment represents his intentions to take some time off and recalibrate before he makes his next move. Having served as Nedbank’s CIO for 15 years, and worked at the bank for more than 26, he’s excited about what lies ahead.

Looking back on his career, he says he’s witnessed the dramatic evolution of the CIO role. “Not only do CIOs need to be open to change, they also need to be willing to shift their entire mindsets because the environment in which they operate is evolving so quickly that what you think is the truth today can transform entirely overnight.” As part of these changes, Swanepoel has seen CIOs being ‘promoted from the basement to the boardroom’ as they take up a more tactical role across all aspects of the business.