Photography: Strike a Pose Photography

Launched in 2024, the awards aim to recognise women’s achievements in a still mostly male-dominated industry. With nearly 500 submissions, 65 finalists were selected across 13 categories. 

Judges undertook the difficult task of choosing the winners, but they all agreed that every candidate was worthy of the accolade.

THE 2025 WINNERS OF THE WIRED4WOMEN AWARDS ARE:

• CIO of the Year: Kerusha Kanjee, CIO, Investec Wealth and Investment International

• CISO of the Year: Sithembile Songo, head of security, Eskom

• Tech Business Leader: Adetola Bakinson, founder and director, Meli Zekaya Services

• Tech Entrepreneur: Anna Collard, SVP content strategy and evangelist Africa, KnowBe4

• Top Tech Innovator: Natalie Miller, co-founder, XRGlobal

• Tech4Good: Zandile Mkwanazi, CEO, GirlCode

• IT Business Development Executive: Tumi Sekhukhune- Chamayou, chief enterprise business officer, MTN

• Rising Star in Security: Denielle Rawthee, cybersecurity officer, Vodacom

• Rising Star in Cloud: Siphesihle Mbonxa, cloud and DevOps engineer, Nedbank

• Rising Star in Emerging Tech: Tanaka Dhliwayo, founder, Tanie Codes Org

• Top Tech Student: Rejoice Chitengu, Master’s student, Wits University

• Mentor of the Year: Shaleenah Marie, head of learning and development, Siemens

• Trailblazing Career: Unathi Mtya, group chief information and digital officer, African Bank