Wim de Bruyn, Capitec

Capitec’s head office just outside of Stellenbosch is big. Really big. The bank’s employees used to work from several different buildings, but this space, called iKhaya (‘home’) was designed to bring everyone together. And encourage them to climb the stairs. The large building, with many open spaces connected by bridges and staircases, was only built with two passenger lifts to promote employee well-being. I mention all this because when I sit down with the bank’s CIO, Wim de Bruyn, in his office on the top floor, I’m a little out of breath.

He tells me that the office space was completed around the same time that the first lockdown restrictions were implemented. So, in the beginning, the building largely stood empty. Today, it’s busy. Capitec has embraced a hybrid workforce approach, allowing employees to work from home some of the time. This being said, the culture is very much about the human connection, which means the bank values and encourages teams to have as much face-to-face time as possible.