As technology divisional executive: Corporate Functions at Liberty, Philile Mkhize is responsible for providing the technology support for the back-office functions of one of South Africa’s iconic financial services companies during a period of great market turbulence. The impact of the Covid-19 emergency is centre stage at the moment, of course, but it’s taking place against a background of sustained disruption across the entire sector.

The key drivers of this disruption are the flood of startups or tech-only competitors unburdened by legacy systems and, more importantly, legacy thinking; a new generation of tech-savvy end-customers who are demanding a highly personalised service on their own terms; employees with a similar expectation of a more satisfying work experience; unrelenting margin pressures; and a highly regulated environment.