Dr. Sizwe Gwala

Currently employed as the Head of Data Governance within ABSA Bank, I’m entrusted with setting up and maturing a data governance capability which will lead to a data-centric organisation. Prior to assuming this role, I was employed as an Enterprise Data Governance Manager at Alexander Forbes with my official obligation being to lead an Enterprise Data Governance Capability. My scope of work comprises of, inter alia; Data Quality Management, Master Data Management, Data Cataloguing, and driving Data Stewardship Initiatives in support of strategic goals and objectives. Before joining Alexander Forbes, I was a Lead Data Manager at ABSA bank, with my responsibilities being to embed data management controls in strategic data platforms housing critical data elements.

My focus areas comprised of; Internal stakeholder engagements for purposes of soliciting business data needs, external engagements with regulatory bodies to ascertain critical data regulatory controls (BCBS239, IFRS9, POPIA), and guiding businesses teams on driving delivery prioritization and in formulating delivery focus areas. Operationally, I was responsible for data project planning, sourcing and managing project funds, setting and leading agile teams (SCRUM), leading data analysis deliverables and signing-off data mapping documents. Furthermore, I also led data migration initiatives from a data warehouse (TERADATA, EDW) and Legacy/Mainframe Systems to HADOOP (through Informatica PowerCenter, Spline & Spark).

Prior to joining the ABSA data team, I was responsible for the Information Risk Management (IRM) and Fraud Management components within the ABSA Corporate Investment Banking (CIB) Cluster. My main deliverables were to develop and deploy IRM & Fraud Management strategic & operational controls. During the years 2009-2016, I served within the South African State Security Agency, initially as an Information Security Advisor and later as a Senior Information Analyst. During my tenure as a security advisor, I was appointed on an acting capacity in 02 senior managerial roles namely, as an Interim Regional Security Officer (For Latin America) and an Acting Unit Head for Security Advising and Auditing. Academically, I hold 05 degrees from various universities with the highest being a PhD focused on IT & Cybersecurity Governance. I further possess professional certificates in the following: CDMP-Associate; CoBIT 2019 Foundation, IT & Data Protection Certificate, Project Management Certificate, Security Manager’s Certificate and Cyber Intelligence Collection.