Tech Exchange

In this episode, we explore the world of cycling, partnerships, and diversity in the sport. Marisa is joined by two experts in the field - Jon Adams, head of Partnerships and Commercial for the Absa Cape Epic and Tina Venter, head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs Enablement at Absa and trailblazer of the SheUntamed initiative. We discuss the value of partnerships, Absa's sponsorship of the Absa Cape Epic since 2006, and the success of the Absa SheUntamed program in empowering and supporting women to break down barriers in the rigorous world of cycling. We also explore the role of corporate South Africa in driving diversity and inclusion in the sport. About your host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Before that, she held numerous global roles, including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programs that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades.

The question is, does society at large know how to adapt? In this episode, Marisa interviews economist analyst Sam Rolland who holds the position of Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network. Their insightful conversation unpacks how businesses can cooperate with emerging technologies, and build an understanding of what that means for Africa. The world has become an extremely disruptive place while also an increasingly globalized one. Using cloud technology, South African firms can become globally competitive by increasing innovation and reducing margins that ultimately benefit our economy. About your host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Before that, she held numerous global roles, including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programs that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades.

Are we making enough progress? In this episode, Marisa interviews Tandi Mc Callum, a renowned South African professional golfer with both local and international successes including 8 tournament wins on the local and international circuits. Tandi is also investing in the future of her sport and has been teaching future generations of champions since 2013. Marisa is also joined by Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, Olympian cyclist, and Commonwealth Games Medalist. Both Tandi and Ashleigh are torchbearers for Women, making huge strides to create equality with grit and grace. They are actively involved with many other sporting codes bringing about equality (not only in the physical game but in the digital arena too). About your host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that, she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programmes that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades. Women’s Paris-Roubaix with Ashleigh Moolman Pasio

In this episode, Marisa interviews Alan Turnley-Jones, CEO of Dimension Data. They marshal the data flowing between key trends, challenges, and opportunities to empower the CEO and enterprises in 2023. This interview is key to developing an understanding of the systemic issues and complexities, faced not only by organizations, but nations and people too. How can CEOs and enterprises transform and drive impact in 2023? About our guest: Alan Turnley-Jones was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa (MEA) in June 2022. Alan has been with Dimension Data MEA since 1999 and has been the company’s Managed Cloud and Infrastructure Services Executive since 2021. He’s a seasoned and well-regarded strategic leader who has held a variety of roles over his 23-year tenure at Dimension Data, including serving as a member of the Dimension Data MEA executive from 2013. He brings a wealth of global expertise to his role including a strong track record of innovation and transformation and leading cross-functional teams. About our host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that, she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognized marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programs that consistently outperform industry and organization benchmarks for reach, reputation, and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades. Connect with Alan on LinkedIn

We suffer from data obesity, yet we have very few insights to show for it. In this episode, Marisa interviews Arthur Goldstuck, a respected, award-winning technology commentator, author, and founder of World Wide Worx (a research house). Arthur is also the editor-in-chief of Gadget Magazine. This is a candid conversation about the roots of digital change, the data-driven world, and how emerging technologies can help us embrace the pivotal axis of our modern world. They discuss the following: - The age of cognification of objects and gadgets and the importance of accessing data, tracking and interpreting data. - The state of data regulation and transparency. Does the lack thereof have an impact on the behaviour of consumers? - As objects become more cognified, it will result in a rise in data obesity. How important is the processing of that data to extract value for clients and their consumers, and protect the data? About our host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that, she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognized marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programs that consistently outperform industry and organization benchmarks for reach, reputation, and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades.

How can managers become more systemic in their thinking? If we revisit all the fascinating interviews by Marisa Jansen van Vuuren and her special guests, one common thread emerges. Humanity and technology are interconnected and behind every complex problem, is a human in the system. The reality is, human beings are complex too. How can we transform our teams’ collective mindset and improve strategic alignment to help accelerate firms’ growth and profitability? We managed to track down a specialist who can help us to understand complex adaptive systems (CAS) and make sense of a very complex topic. Tebogo Mekgoe, Former COO of ACSA (Airports Company South Africa), now a leading systems thinking and strategic advisor (Orendo Advisory & Strategy), and educator at various universities and business schools (including Henley Business School) helps us to understand the complexities and the need for more systemic thinking. Your host, Marisa, will connect the dots between the ideas, trends and solutions that are set to accelerate Africa’s digital agenda in a sustainable and inclusive way all the while keeping it engaging, thought-provoking and relevant to your world. Ready to join us on this journey of discovery? Then let’s begin! Learn more about Dimension Data · Get in touch with Tebogo Mekgoe

Off-World missions to create a sustainable future on earth. There is no doubt that the conversation with Dr. Adriana Marais (technologist, theoretical physicist, and aspiring extra-terrestrial) will leave you in awe of the possibilities that exist off-world and why these missions are necessary to create a sustainable future here on earth. Fellow woman in STEM, Marisa Jansen van Vuuren sits down with Adriana Marais to unpack the various projects on the Tech Exchange Podcast. About Adriana Marais: Adriana was selected as one of the 100 international astronaut candidates for the Mars One Project. She took matters into her own hands after the project declared bankruptcy and founded Proudly Human in 2019. This is an off-world project that aims to inhabit extreme environments on our planet to prepare for life on the moon, Mars, and beyond. This mission is deeply rooted in using technology for social good to also create a sustainable future here on Earth. About our host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programs that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades. Participate in the Proudly Human mission

Thought-provoking insight into why Proudly African innovations are scarce. In this episode, Marisa Jansen van Vuuren interviews Prof Abejide Ade-Ibijola, a Professor in Artificial Intelligence and Applications. You are in for a treat because we will go on an exploration with one of Africa’s great minds and get an insight into how we can forge a way for Africans to solve African Problems. This will be no ordinary conversation, but a thought-provoking insight into why Proudly African Innovations are scarce and what the underlying systemic issues are. The African mindset is courageous, resilient and filled with a kaleidoscope of diversity which is the essence required to make innovation and Africa thrive. Prof Abejide Ade-Ibijola refers to himself as a computer whisperer. He specializes in Artificial Intelligence and Applications and loves tech creation. Whether creating complex algorithms or developing new methods in gaming. He is all about theory and practice, but when he enters the classroom, he teaches from the heart. About our host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that, she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programs that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades. Learn more about our wide range of innovative products

The influence of digital and technological inventions on human innovation. In this episode, Marisa interviews Dr Jay van Zyl to unpack how businesses can thrive using innovation to make their mark in a connected world. Before we can thrive in the 21st Century we should first understand innovation at its core, the real value of ideas, and the complexities of the evolving human. To understand why businesses thrive, we should first recognize that technology is ubiquitous, and the pace of technology innovation is exponential. In addition to this, there is a constant evolution of humans and generations behave differently. Hypercompetitive behaviour is driven by the desire to be relevant. Therefore, businesses can no longer afford to operate in a connected world without real-time data to take innovation into the future. About our guest: Dr Jay van Zyl. Innovator and entrepreneur in the world of intelligent technology innovation. Currently working on finding intelligent and predictive ways to engage in real-time with humans over digital touchpoints. The influence of digital and technological inventions on human lifted his focus to the “why” humans innovate. Author of "Built to Thrive, making your mark in a connected world". About our host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that, she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programmes that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades. Visit our website · Get in touch with Jay · Get in touch with Marissa

Understanding progress and recognising the power of our voices. In this episode, your host, Marisa, will interview Rika Nakazawa, the Group Vice President of NTT and Best Selling Author for “Dear Chairwoman” to discuss the power of connecting to our “heroine's journey”. They will also discuss the importance of understanding progress and recognizing how our voices restore confidence in ourselves, and the fearless lead(h)ers of tomorrow. They will paint a picture of gender makeup in the tech industry(as an example) to highlight the current state of equality and how women can give voice to their personal and career stories. Sharing these stories will light up the path for those who will follow in their footsteps. Because all our stories are int(h)connected! About our host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that, she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programmes that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades. Order your book today · Contact Rika Nakazawa · Contact Marisa Jansen van Vuuren

The power of an interconnected sport experience. Our Guest: Kevin McCallum (Sports journalist) In this episode, Marisa Jansen van Vuuren is in conversation with Kevin McCullam to discuss the power of the Interconnected Sports Experience. They discuss the technology and innovation that enhances both the Tour de France and Tour de Femme experiences through the world's largest connected stadium. Data becomes the catalyst of change and pushes the “human race” forward in an entertaining way. About our guest: Kevin McCallum was the chief sports writer of The Star newspaper for 16 years, a journey that took him to three Olympics, five Paralympics, rugby, football and cricket World Cups, three Commonwealth Games, and the Tour de France amongst many others. His work has appeared in Business Day, Mail & Guardian, ESPN, The Sunday Times (London), The Sunday Telegraph (London), Bicycling SA, GQ, SA Cricket, SA Rugby, Sports Illustrated, Style, Femina, The Red Bulletin, FHM, Fox Sports Australia, Player's Voice and Wanted magazine. McCallum has won several sports journalism awards, which he doesn’t like talking about much. He is a cyclist (with almost as many bicycles as he has awards). About our host: Marisa is the CMO for Dimension Data in Middle East & Africa. Prior to that she held numerous global roles including the Senior Vice President of Brand for NTT Ltd. and Senior Group Director of Brand for Dimension Data. A globally recognised marketing dynamo, Marisa has built a reputation for creating and managing marketing programmes that consistently outperform industry and organisation benchmarks for reach, reputation and revenue creation. A firm believer that marketing is all about creating tangible value, Marisa’s illustrious career has seen her win multiple international marketing awards and accolades. Connect with Marisa Jansen van Vuuren · Connect with Kevin McCallum

Examining Africa’s technology landscape as it stands today. After trailblazing African tech innovation for more than four decades, Dimension Data is proud to welcome you to The Tech Exchange - the podcast that examines Africa’s technology landscape as it stands today… and the exciting possibilities of tomorrow. Together, we’ll explore the latest in African and global innovation, case studies, market insights, new tech and petabytes of other interesting conversations! Joined by industry experts, your host, Marisa, will connect the dots between the ideas, trends and solutions that are set to accelerate Africa’s digital agenda in a sustainable and inclusive way all the while keeping it engaging, thought-provoking and relevant to your world. Ready to join us on this journey of discovery? Then let’s begin!