Eskom CIO Faith Burn.

When it comes to Eskom’s IT department, headed by CIO Faith Burn, it strives to do everything possible to support the organisation in its turnaround objectives. She is passionate about processes and people and is the engine behind the group’s technology and its driving change for the greater good of the company and all of South Africa’s citizens.

Burn says that she is humbled by her recent CIO South Africa 2023 award as Public Sector CIO of the Year. “This award reconfirmed for me that we have a really good ICT team. I have the privilege of leading a team of direct reports that comprises of 50% female, but that said, I am purpose-driven and recruit purpose-driven people of both genders. My leadership skills have also adapted and grown over my career, giving me a deeper appreciation of how to support women and to be more collaborative with my entire team. “Success does not mean being the cleverest person in the room, but, rather, someone who demonstrates the qualities of persuasion, tenacity, collaboration and patience.” Burn says her approach to her position is to be as prepared and

authentic as possible, and she is unapologetic about being a woman. She is generally a person who will voice an informed opinion – even if she has to do this three or four times until this opinion is heard. She also stresses the importance of active listening.

“We may not always be right, but women do have a right to be heard,” she says. “I share with men the specific challenges women face – purely with the intent to create awareness. This has demonstrated on many occasions the number of male allies we have and their efforts towards addressing stereotyping and misogyny.”

Eskom is undergoing a cultural and performance change and within the technology team, there is a genuine desire to contribute to the company’s success, with a remarkable amount of personal time sacrificed to employ technology to help in other critical areas, such as Generation, Transmission and Distribution. “Change comes with incremental innovation, a sound understanding of the business and a clear focus and understanding of where we want to go. It comes from within and externally, such as the contribution MTN makes to our 3G and WAN space. Tapping into the expertise of South Africans who have raised their hands to help through our crowd sourcing platform also helps us to achieve the small wins every day.

“Only with intentional daily actions and collaboration will we become the lean and agile IT organisation we are striving towards becoming,” she concludes.

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