South Africa’s cybersecurity ecosystem is shaped by leaders operating at the intersection of national infrastructure, financial services, healthcare, energy, and emerging technology. While not all of them carry the formal CISO title, each of the leaders below plays a defining role in how security strategy, resilience, and execution are evolving across the region. For startups and scale-ups looking to mature their security posture, these are voices worth studying, following, and learning from.
Sithembile Songo — Chief Information Security Officer, National State-Owned Energy Entity
Sithembile Songo stands among the most influential cybersecurity leaders in South Africa and beyond. With more than two decades of experience across financial services, telecommunications, consulting, public sector, and energy, she brings both strategic depth and operational rigor to one of the most critical environments in the country.
As CISO of the state-owned energy entity responsible for producing roughly 95% of South Africa’s electricity, Songo leads the protection of national critical infrastructure. Her work spans securing operational technology environments, enabling safe generation, transmission, and distribution, and ensuring cyber resilience across systems that directly impact economic stability.
Her leadership has been recognized globally, including CISO of the Year, Top 50 Cyber Professionals, Top 100 Global Women in Cybersecurity, and Top 100 Influential Women distinctions. A frequent international speaker and active board and advisory member, Songo combines technical mastery with mentorship and advocacy, making her a benchmark for security leadership in complex, high-stakes environments.
Ishaaq Jacobs — Chief Cyber Security Officer, Sasol
Ishaaq Jacobs brings a business-first lens to cybersecurity leadership, shaped by more than 20 years in information technology management. At Sasol, he focuses on enabling enterprise strategy by protecting the organization against cyber risk, positioning security as a catalyst rather than a constraint.
One of the defining moments of his career was leading the transformation from a traditional IT organization into a DevSecOps-driven, agile, and data-led function. This shift supported multi-speed IT and allowed the business to unlock greater value from its digital initiatives.
Jacobs’ experience in aligning cyber defense with large-scale operational and digital transformation makes his leadership particularly relevant for startups navigating growth, modernization, and the tension between speed and security.
Renaldo J. — Group Head of Cybersecurity, Globeleq
Renaldo J. is a forward-thinking cybersecurity leader with over two decades of frontline experience helping critical industries strengthen cyber resilience, particularly across industrial control systems and operational environments.
Currently serving as Group Head of Cybersecurity at Globeleq, he is known for embedding security deeply into business processes rather than treating it as a bolt-on function. His background spans governance maturation, security stack modernization, executive-level communication, and large-scale program delivery.
A winner of the Cyber Leadership Institute Strategy Pitch Competition, Renaldo brings a rare balance of technical depth, board-level influence, and leadership development. His work demonstrates how cyber resilience can be achieved effectively, even under constrained budgets—making his approach especially instructive for growing organizations.
Niel Van Rooyen — Chief Information Security Officer, MagicOrange
With more than 18 years of experience across mining, retail, manufacturing, and telecommunications, Niel Van Rooyen has built a career around cross-industry collaboration and cyber readiness.
As CISO at MagicOrange, his focus extends beyond organizational security to fostering stronger cooperation between industries and government. His perspective emphasizes shared intelligence, collective defense, and strategic alignment in response to increasingly sophisticated threat actors.
For startups operating in interconnected ecosystems, Van Rooyen’s emphasis on collaboration over isolation offers a pragmatic blueprint for scaling security maturity without losing agility.
Olabode Ogundele — Chief Information Security Officer, Vox Telecom
Olabode Ogundele is a deeply technical and highly credentialed security leader with over 18 years of experience spanning governance, operations, and enterprise security architecture.
At Vox Telecom, he led initiatives across ISO 27001 and PCI DSS compliance, security operations, threat hunting, incident response, vulnerability management, and business continuity. His hands-on experience with security tooling and operational execution is complemented by a strong governance and risk management foundation.
Recognized as one of the Top 50 Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch and featured in the ITWeb CISO Directory, Ogundele exemplifies execution-driven leadership, an essential reference point for startups building security functions from the ground up.
Sachin Surajbali — Chief Information Security Officer, Liberty Group South Africa
Sachin Surajbali brings a steady, methodical approach to cybersecurity leadership within the financial services sector. With certifications spanning CISM, CISSP, and CCSP, and a strong grounding in executive management, he bridges technical rigor with business governance.
As CISO at Liberty Group South Africa, his work focuses on safeguarding complex financial environments while supporting innovation and regulatory compliance. His experience highlights how disciplined security leadership enables trust in highly regulated industries, a lesson particularly relevant for fintech startups scaling into enterprise markets.
Venisha Nayagar — Group Chief Information Security Officer, Life Healthcare
Venisha Nayagar is a globally experienced, three-time CISO whose career spans healthcare, financial crime, digital forensics, governance, and security operations at scale.
As Group CISO at Life Healthcare, she is responsible for cyber and data protection strategy across a global healthcare footprint, safeguarding sensitive patient data while advancing modern threat defenses. Beyond her operational leadership, Nayagar is a founder, advisory board member, mentor, and frequent industry judge.
Her extensive list of accolades (including Top 50 Women in Cybersecurity Africa and multiple international leadership awards) reflects her impact not only as a practitioner but as a builder of communities and future leaders in cybersecurity.
Yendesian Naidoo — Group Head of Cyber Security Engineering, Life Healthcare
While not always carrying the CISO title, Yendesian Naidoo represents the kind of security leadership that modern organizations increasingly rely on. As Group Head of Cyber Security Engineering at Life Healthcare, he leads the technical backbone of enterprise cyber defense.
Having also served as Acting CISO, Naidoo bridges strategy and execution, overseeing engineering teams, security architecture, and operational resilience. His role underscores an important reality: some of the most influential security leaders operate behind the scenes, shaping outcomes through engineering excellence and leadership continuity.
Where South Africa’s Cyber Leaders Set the Pace
What unites these leaders is not just their titles but their ability to translate cybersecurity into business resilience, national stability, and operational trust. For startups and scale-ups navigating growth, regulation, and digital risk, these South African security leaders offer real-world examples of how influence, execution, and leadership evolve long before or sometimes beyond the CISO label.
Their journeys show that the future of cybersecurity leadership is as much about impact as it is about titles.