Joshua Motsuenyane, the CIO of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa.

Infectious enthusiasm isn’t a common trait in CIOs. Keeping a big business running is entirely serious, and that’s often reflected in their personalities. While Joshua Motsuenyane isn’t exactly frivolous, he has a fast-talking, quick-thinking energy that’s positively refreshing. His fizz feels appropriate, too, since he’s the CIO of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA).

CCBA was formed in 2016 after The Coca-Cola Company and SABMiller combined their soft drinks bottling activities in the region. Motsuenyane had been SABMiller’s head of IT strategy and architecture, and morphed into CIO of the combined operations, which now has 17 000 employees and 42 bottling plants in 15 countries.