BI + AI Innovation & Tech Fest Africa 2026

Christyl Potgieter is Director of Enterprise Partner Marketing Global at edX, where she leads strategic partnerships and growth initiatives across enterprise, workforce, government, and loyalty ecosystems spanning more than 60 countries. With over 16 yearsʼ experience across marketing, consumer insights, analytics, and EdTech, she specialises in building scalable learning and workforce development strategies that connect education to measurable business impact.

Jannie Malan is an experienced Workday solution consultant and design thinker, that has spent the last 20 years assisting local and global organisations in adopting innovative, cloud-based enterprise technology. Jannie is passionate about helping HCM and L&D practitioners becoming strategic partners to their businesses and to the responsibly usage of AI for a sustainable ROI. Outside of work he feeds his continuous curiosity through travel, writing and hiking… and is an avid board gamer.

Yolanda Nobanda is the Co-Founder of Yugrow, a behavioural science-driven growth platform designed to help professionals unlock peak performance through personalised development journeys. With experience spanning 13 African countries, she has worked as a strategic advisor to CEOs and CHROs, supporting organisational transformation, culture alignment, and performance optimisation across Africa. Passionate about human potential, leadership growth, and meaningful workplace transformation, Yolanda works at the intersection of technology, behavioural insight, and learning innovation.

Mika Valoyi is an accomplished HR executive who heads up Talent and Culture at Vodacom South Africa. Her portfolio spans the full talent lifecycle — from talent acquisition and management to leadership development, people capability, and Diversity, Equity,Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB). With a career rooted in building people-first organisations, Mika is passionate about unlocking potential at scale and shaping cultures where individuals and teams thrive.

Sheree Comninellis is a Learning & Change Executive with 18 years’ experience in L&D, including extensive experience leading change for digital learning implementation. At Woolworths, she is Head of Learning & Change for Fashion, Beauty and Home, where she leads the full learning portfolio as well as change management for business improvement initiatives. She is passionate about mentoring L&D professionals to build their strategic edge.

Kele Boakgomo is the CEO and Co-Founder of Yugrow, a behavioural science-driven growth platform designed to help professionals unlock peak performance through personalised development journeys. A former Managing Director at Accenture and current Board Member at GoTyme Bank, Kele brings together behavioral science, technology and data to help organizations move beyond traditional development models toward measurable human transformation.

Jack is currently leading Factorial’s expansion across Africa. With a background in restructuring revenue streams and delivering high-impact alliances, he specializes in helping organizations modernize their HR ecosystems. Jack understands the complexities of scaling HRIS solutions for multinational corporations and helps leaders bridge the gap between traditional HR processes and the future of automated, data-driven workforce management.

Caroline Marwisa is an experienced Executive Leadership Development professional at Absa, where she focuses on fostering effective leadership practices. A Chartered Accountant and published author, Caroline is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Liberty University, specialising in Leadership Effectiveness through the lens of shared identity.

Yandri Pienaar’s passion for transforming good organisations into great ones through the development of people has contributed largely to Moyo’s exceptional market reputation, and one of the key reasons why the group has been able to attract, develop retain top talent. With 15 years of experience in the fields of people, consulting and technology, Yandri is keen to help other organisations reach success through growing their talent pool through attracting and developing not only the right skills, but the right people as well.

Byran Barkley has worked with legal technology for more than 10 years with extensive experience in delivering legal technology projects, across various industries. He has a passion for enabling legal professionals to work smarter and reduce the mundane. He prides himself on delivering customer expectations and taking user adoption to the next level. When he’s not improving business processes, he enjoys flying his drone and photographing the beautiful landscapes of South Africa.

Nerushka Bowan is the founder of the LITT Institute, where she helps legal professionals and organisations embrace emerging technologies, innovate responsibly, and prepare for the future of work. She is busy working on her upcoming book #GenAI for the Future-Ready Lawyer. She is passionate about creating a more human-centred approach to legal innovation and redefining success through wellbeing and balance in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Managing Director of Elephants, Rhinos & People (ERP) and General Legal Counsel to the Group Elephant companies. ERP protects Southern Africa’s wild elephants and rhinos by securing critical habitat, investing in infrastructure, and creating sustainable income alternatives for adjacent communities.

Warren Garvie is a Senior Project Manager: Asset Management at Netcare, one of South Africa’s leading private healthcare groups. With over 14 years’ experience in physical asset management, SAP Plant Maintenance, and data governance, Warren focuses on improving asset information integrity and driving digital transformation in complex organisations. Passionate about bridging the gap between operations and technology, he leads initiatives that turn complex data challenges into sustainable, value-driven solutions. Outside of work, Warren is a proud dad of two boys and a singer-songwriter and performing musician.