You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: it’s all about disruption

Neville Williams, Remgro CFO

On 29 October, CFOs gathered for a dinner supported by alternative stock exchange A2X, with Capitec CFO André du Plessis as the special guest, to talk about the opportunities and challenges that disruption provides to CFOs and their companies, and what excites them most about disruption. Pick n Pay CFO Lerena Olivier zoomed in on the “energy” that disruption brings to the wider economy “even at companies that are not the first to disrupt”. Curro Holdings FD Bernardt van der Linde spoke about the ways disruption can “create something better for society”, while Coronation Fund Managers CFO MaryAnne Musekiwa focused on the ever-improving customer experience. André challenged the notion of Capitec being a disruptor and interrogated the difference between disruption and innovation. “We weren’t outsiders doing things in a totally different way, like Netflix for example. We were a bunch of bankers, who focused on simplicity and transparency.” He spoke about disruption in the banking world and stated that digital banks – like Tyme Bank – are not disruptors in his eyes. “All the big banks in the world think about digital all the time and use machine learning and AI.” In the last quarter of 2019, CFO South Africa hosted two dinners at The Stack in Cape Town – one with inspiration from Capitec CFO André du Plessis and the other with disruption guru Ian Russel.

Ian Russell, disruption guru

Narriman Taliep, V&A Waterfront CFO Otsile Matheba, A2X CFO

The 29 October CFO Dinner at The Stack in Cape Town was attended by: • Kevin Brady, A2X CEO • Otsile Matheba, A2X CFO • André du Plessis, Capitec CFO • Lerena Olivier, Pick n Pay CFO • Wikus Olivier, Sanlam CFO • Bernardt van der Linde, Curro Holdings FD • Mary-Anne Musekiwa, Coronation Fund Managers CFO • Hennie Nel, Santam CFO • Neville Williams, Remgro CFO • Rob Nicolella, Hosken Consolidated Investments CFO

The 19 November CFO Dinner was attended by: • Pieter de Wit, Afrimat CFO • Jason Wright, Homechoice CFO • Morne van Tonder, Pragma Holdings FD • Graham Meyer, Tellumat FD • Ashley Francis, UCT Executive FD • Narriman Taliep, V&A Waterfront CFO • Justin Crowhurst, Woolworths CFO

The CFOs also spoke about rolling out new business models – like digital education and online retail – while carrying on with the core business of, for example, schooling and physical retail.

On 19 November, CFO South Africa, supported by Oracle, hosted a dinner with disruption guru Ian Russel, who provoked CFOs to think about disruptive behaviours within their organisations.

All the CFOs agreed that they needed certain skill sets to weather the storm and to stay relevant. The skills they highlighted were adaptability, agility and being forward-thinking. Essentially, they said, CFOs must anticipate change before it happens – disrupt or be disrupted.

Ian asked the CFOs what they are doing to remain relevant as AI and robotics are being incorporated into finance teams. Homechoice’s Jason Wright and Afrimat’s Pieter de Wit pointed out that CAs and their analytical thinking skills add enormous value to business. They help to review and analyse decisions based on their experience within the business that technology and automation simply don’t provide. The CFOs agreed that using data and insights in meaningful ways is how they will continue to add value.

A common theme raised was that skills transfer is critical between the older generations with institutional and business knowledge and the younger generation who are tech savvy, creative and adaptable. Organisations that can adopt this knowledge-sharing mindset will catapult their business ahead of their competitors.

George Ferreira, senior sales director – applications, at Oracle said: “People are concerned about the rate and pace at which the world is now evolving, the reality is that this pace is only going to increase, and we need to build a mindset and skillset in order to be able to adapt to the imminent changes.” l