Barry Dwolatzky, director of the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering and Mteto Nyati, Microsoft SA MD

Mteto Nyati, Microsoft SA MD, and Barry Dwolatzky, director of the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering, were named the co-winners of the 2013 IT Personality of the Year Award, while Sal Laher, CIO of Eskom, was named the 2013 Visionary CIO of the Year winner.

The winners were announced during the Institute of IT Professionals SA (IITPSA) President’s Awards ceremony at Montecasino earlier this month. Other finalists for the IT Personality Award included Pieter de Villiers, founder and CEO of Clickatell; Stafford Masie, founder of Thumbzup; and Wesley Lynch, CEO and founder of Realmdigital.

In their citation for the co-winners, the judges noted the common link between Dwolatzky and Nyati as their passion for nurturing young talent and emerging entrepreneurs. Both men have made that a core principle, guiding their careers.

“This is the first time that I’ve come to a casino and actually won something,” joked Dwolatzky on accepting the award. “The key thing I’d want to state is, that working for Wits University has been the best in my life. They have always allowed me to experiment and I’ve always got fantastic support from colleagues.”

Nyati said there were many people who have helped him get this recognition. “Our mission at Microsoft is to enable individuals and businesses to realise their full potential; and if you are a leader in such an organisation, there is no room to sit on the fence but to take a stand to improve society.”

LOOKING BACK

The IT Personality of the Year is now in its 35th year. Past winners include Alan Knott-Craig, Andile Ngcaba, Mark Shuttleworth, Asher Bohbot and, last year’s winner Rob Stokes, founder and CEO of Quirk. The award is presented by the IITPSA in association with ITWeb, GIBS and Gartner Africa.

The Visionary CIO Award, now in its sixth year, recognises an executive who heads up ICT strategy in an organisation and has demonstrated visionary leadership in using technology to support and grow business. Past winners of the award include Rabelani Dagada, head of ICT at Royal Bafokeng Administration; Carl Louw, head of the Internet Channel at Absa Bank; Patrick Monyeki, CIO of De Beers; Sandi Macfie, CIO of Tsogo Sun; and in 2012 Sello Mmakau, CIO of Home Affairs.