Programme Disclaimer: This is a draft programme and is subject to change.
Session times, topics and speakers are subject to change.
| DAY 1 CONFERENCE: WEDNESDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | Opening by IRMSA Conference Facilitator Devi Sankaree Govender | ||||
| 08:50 | Welcome Nicola Comninos | ||||
| 09:05 | Welcome from Sponsor | ||||
| 09:15 | Keynote Speaker Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi | ||||
| 09:45 | This is how we look South Africa! An unfiltered look at South Africa’s political landscape, where we are, what is shaping our direction, and what it means for the risks and opportunities ahead. Mpumelelo Mkhabela | ||||
| 10:15 | Panel Session: The Courage to Stand When speaking up comes at a cost. A powerful conversation on whistleblowing, justice, ethics and the courage required to stand for what is right and hold wrongdoing to account. Facilitator: Devi Sankaree Govender Cynthia Stimpel, Whistleblower and Motivational Speaker Dr Oscar van Heerden, Kelello Consulting | ||||
| 10:45 | NETWORKING TEA BREAK & EXHIBITION | ||||
| BOMA BREAKAWAYS | |||||
| INTEGRITY | INNOVATION | NAVIGATE | RESILIENCE + | ENERGY X YOUTH – The Heart of our Community | |
| 11:15 | Siegfried Lange Managing Consultant Capacity Grow (Khomas/Namibia) Team Wild Horses – Knowing the Team’s Faulty Thinking Explore the shared negative beliefs teams hold about themselves, such as being perceived as “the police.” Learn how to identify these narratives and address their internal effects. Consider practical ways to reshape perceptions and strengthen cross-team relationships. | Mercy Chikwanda International Audit & risk Consultant Memiab Woman Assessors Strategic Governance and Risk Management in the AI Era Examine how AI, automation and digital transformation are reshaping governance, risk and assurance. Explore ethical, cyber, privacy, bias and accountability risks, alongside responsible AI governance. Gain practical insights for strengthening ERM, assurance and organisational resilience in an AI-driven world. | Phumelele Ndou Client Director Excelsia Capital Telecommunications Infrastructure: Balancing Innovation, Security and Universal Access Explore telecommunications infrastructure as a strategic foundation for Africa’s digital economy. Consider its role in financial inclusion, digital services, education, healthcare and economic participation. Discuss how innovation, security and universal access can be balanced to support sustainable growth. | Dr Hermie le Roux (PhD) IRMSA Technical Library Lead & Enterprise Risk Management Subject Matter Expert Vanessa Thurlwell Technical Risk Manager IRMSA From Insight to Action: Applying the IRMSA Risk Report In line with the IRMSA Risk Report’s UmphakathiVuka theme, this session translates South Africa’s key risk insights into practical organisational priorities and gives an urgent call for communities, organisations and leaders to rise, respond and act. We will explore how to turn risk intelligence into decisive action: strengthening governance, resilience and collaboration while contributing to a safer, more inclusive and sustainable South Africa. | CHALLENGE 1 |
| 12:05 | Fatima Rawat Subject Matter Expert The Ethics Institute The Integrity Test: When Doing the Right Thing Becomes a Risk Decision | Helper Zhou CEO Quantilytix The Invisible Workforce: AI Agents, Decision Automation and Emerging Enterprise Risks Examine how AI, autonomous agents and digital twins are reshaping work, decision-making and operating models. Explore strategic, operational, cyber, ethical and human-capital risks arising from automation and augmentation. Gain practical approaches for responsible AI governance and building resilient, AI-ready organisations. | Beyond GDP: The Socio-Economic Risks Reshaping South Africa For risk leaders, the question is no longer simply “What will the economy do?”, but “What is economic pressure doing to society, and what risks does that create for organisations, institutions and the country?” | Faithful Kumbula Executive: Assurance, Compliance & Risk Old Mutual Insure Third-Party Risk Management: Vendor, Partner and Ecosystem Vulnerabilities Explore the need to modernise third-party risk oversight in highly interconnected operating environments. Consider risk appetite, governance and accountability where third-party failure rapidly becomes an enterprise event. Identify investments in proactive detection, faster response and resilient vendor, partner and ecosystem relationships. | CHALLENGE 2 |
| 12:45 | LUNCH & EXHIBITION | ||||
| BOMA BREAKAWAYS | |||||
| INTEGRITY | INNOVATION | NAVIGATE | RESILIENCE + | ENERGY X | |
| 13:45 | Elijah Masubelele Executive director Justice360degree The Human Dimension of Risk: Leadership, Culture and Organisational Resilience Explore how toxic leadership, fear-based cultures and ethical failures can become significant enterprise risks. Identify early warning signs that silence dissent, weaken accountability and allow misconduct to flourish. Learn how psychologically safe, transparent and ethical cultures strengthen organisational resilience. | Wame Semele Risk and Compliance Senior Consultant Zaidi Consulting Rapidly Growing Use of AI: What It Means for Risk Professionals Explore how political and climate-governance volatility can reshape enterprise, transition and liability risks. Learn to use a practical political-scoring approach to assess policy credibility, stability and early-warning signals. Consider how dynamic climate governance risk can be embedded into ERM, scenario analysis and risk appetite frameworks. | Sanjay Bhana IRMSA | Phillip Mosiane Building Institutional Resilience Explore practical strategies for strengthening business continuity, crisis preparedness and adaptive institutional resilience. | CHALLENGE 3 |
| 14:25 | Tino Saincic Co-founder: Saincon (Pty) Ltd Head Developer: THIRSTY™ Closing the Circle: Integrity Without Respect Becomes Rigidity Integrity frameworks give organisations the standard to hold themselves to; respect is the behavioural condition that determines whether people surface the truth before an audit has to find it. Drawing on more than 25 years in operations and governance and IRMSA’s own Risk Report 2026/27, this session unpacks the human layer beneath integrity — and what it takes to build it before it’s tested. | Pavana Ranjith Annestacia Le Maharaj Dr Ansa Jordaan CEO, Fireside Chat: | Wilna Meiring Nirasha Manilall | Beyond Job Replacement: Using AI to Enhance Human Capability Explore how AI can enhance human capability rather than simply replace jobs. Consider the distinction between automation and augmentation when aligning AI adoption with enterprise risk management. Learn how ethical, cost-effective human–AI collaboration can support sustainable workforce transformation. | CHALLENGE 4 |
| 15:05 | NETWORKING TEA BREAK & EXHIBITION | ||||
| 15:35 | Sapna Amlani Interview: Rated: South Africa Through a Global Lens Beyond the numbers! What South Africa’s ratings reveal about global confidence, economic resilience and the risks shaping our future. | ||||
| 16:00 | Fireside Chat: Leadership Under Fire CEOs confront corruption, accountability and the responsibility of business leaders to stand up, speak out and lead with ethics and integrity. | ||||
| 16:35 | Closing Keynote Speaker A journalist’s close-up view of criminality, political interference and corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system, revealing what is happening behind the headlines and what it means for the country’s risk landscape. Senior Politics Reporter | ||||
| 17:00 | Close of Day One Yvonne Mothibi CEO, IRMSA | ||||
| 17:15 | CLOSE | ||||
| DAY 2 CONFERENCE: THURSDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | Opening by IRMSA Conference Facilitator Devi Sankaree Govender | ||||
| 08:45 | Keynote Speaker When Pressure Builds: Jobs, Growth & Social Stability Unpacking how unemployment, economic pressure and migration are converging to shape South Africa’s risk landscape. What leadership must do next. | ||||
| 09:20 | Panel Discussion The Pressure Point: When Economic Strain Becomes Social Risk An open conversation on unemployment, migration and the growing tensions around who gets access to jobs and economic opportunity in South Africa. | ||||
| 10:00 | NETWORKING TEA BREAK & EXHIBITION | ||||
| BOMA BREAKAWAYS | |||||
| INTEGRITY | INNOVATION | NAVIGATE | RESILIENCE + | ENERGY X | |
| 10:30 | Benjamin Chayamiti Vonani Chauke Ameliorator Group Bryce T Mpala Regulatory Compliance Manager Ledgerwood Financial Services Fireside Chat: | Glacier MsGee Monareng CISO DP World AI-Driven Workforce Transformation: Managing the Risks of Automation and Augmentation Examine how AI is transforming South African work through automation, augmentation and intelligent decision systems. Explore operational, workforce, ethical, regulatory and cybersecurity risks created by rapid AI adoption. Consider governance and security approaches for protecting people, data and operations in a changing threat landscape. | Simphiwe Banana Head of Risk Management and Assurance POLMED What Comes First: Strategy or Risk? How Risk Professionals Can Add Value Before the Strategy Is Approved Explore how risk professionals can contribute before strategic commitments and implementation plans are finalised. Learn to test assumptions, challenge uncertainty and consider possible, probable and preferred futures. Position the risk function as a strategic adviser that improves adaptability, resilience and long-term outcomes. | Zethu Lubisi Movashan Moodley Palesa Shai Mabore Sithole Managing Director Full Potential | Liam du Plessis Replenishment Analyst The Shoprite Group One young professional’s journey from student to analyst, sharing the challenges, opportunities and lessons learned along the way, with practical advice for the next generation of risk leaders. |
| 11:15 | Liesl Brown RRA Business Manager Andile Solutions Future Governance: Governance for Fully Autonomous Organisations Explore how governance could operate where decision-making is largely performed by autonomous systems. Consider the emerging accountability, control, ethical and assurance risks of minimal human oversight. Discuss practical approaches to mitigating governance risks in increasingly autonomous operating environments. | Third-Party Risk and the Threats to Ecosystem Integrity Explore how dependence on vendors, fintechs and digital platforms creates interconnected operational, cyber and regulatory risks. Consider how third-party failures can cascade across financial ecosystems, affecting resilience and reputation. Gain practical approaches to due diligence, continuous monitoring and ecosystem-wide risk governance. | Cuthbert Tinavapi Lincorn Jabu Moderator: Mlandvo Sikhondze Fireside Chat: Combined Assurance in Government: A Practical Framework for Institutional Resilience | Zama Lugongolo Chief Risk Officer uMngeni-uThukela Water Kelvin Meyer Water Expert uMngeni-uThukela Water From El Niño to Water Insecurity: Managing the Risk Before the Crisis uMngeni-uThukela Water uMngeni-uThukela Water With South Africa already facing pressure from rising demand, ageing infrastructure, water losses and uneven water availability, the critical question is whether we are acting early enough to prevent climate variability from becoming a full-scale water security crisis. | Dr Mashilo Boloka CEO OS Lab Future of Risk Profession Explore the shift from reactive compliance to proactive, design-led marketplace risk management. Consider how Safety by Design embeds risk identification, mitigation, monitoring and assurance into digital platforms. Examine emerging regulatory tools and continuous risk assessment for sustainable digital platform governance. |
| 12:00 | IRMSA Student Challenge: Our four finalists will share their presentations in short power bursts! All delegates will have the opportunity to listen to our future risk professionals and have the chance to vote for the best student group. | IRMSA Student Challenge: Our four finalists will share their presentations in short power bursts! All delegates will have the opportunity to listen to our future risk professionals and have the chance to vote for the best student group. | IRMSA Student Challenge: Our four finalists will share their presentations in short power bursts! All delegates will have the opportunity to listen to our future risk professionals and have the chance to vote for the best student group. | IRMSA Student Challenge: Our four finalists will share their presentations in short power bursts! All delegates will have the opportunity to listen to our future risk professionals and have the chance to vote for the best student group. | IRMSA Student Challenge: Our four finalists will share their presentations in short power bursts! All delegates will have the opportunity to listen to our future risk professionals and have the chance to vote for the best student group. |
| 12:45 | LUNCH & EXHIBITION VIEWING | ||||
| BOMA BREAKAWAYS | |||||
| INTEGRITY | INNOVATION | NAVIGATE | RESILIENCE + | ENERGY X | |
| 13:45 | Kutlwano Ngwarati Founder & Principal, AI Governance NK Intel Governing the Ungovernable: Agentic AI Risk and the New Board Accountability Architecture Explore AI governance as a Board-level fiduciary responsibility, including ethical deployment, oversight and accountability. Examine the emerging risks of agentic AI systems that can plan, act and execute with increasing autonomy. Gain practical questions and maturity-assessment approaches for strengthening Board and Risk Committee AI governance. | Mordie Kruger Fireside Chat: | Ryan Mokgosi Sanjay Bhana IRMSA Volker von Widdern, Strategic Risk Riskonet Africa Parametric Insurance and Alternative Risk Transfer for Emerging Market Contexts | Ruzelle Swanepoel Director Swan Consulting Services Occupational Health & Safety in South Africa: Legal Implications for Business Explore occupational health and safety as an enterprise risk affecting continuity, finances, reputation and productivity. Consider the legal and strategic importance of effective OHS management for employees and wider stakeholders. Learn how alignment with recognised good practice, including ISO 45001, can strengthen resilience and trust. | Words of Wisdom: Thabile Nyaba Eleni Albanis Head: Market Conduct Risk Assurance Nedbank Students and Youth |
| 14:00 | Gontle Khupe Chairperson & President The Institute of Internal Auditors Botswana (Gaborone, Botswana) Risk Culture as a Strategic Asset: Building Accountability in an Uncertain World Explore how risk culture influences organisational resilience, decision-making and long-term performance. Move beyond compliance-driven risk management towards everyday accountability, awareness and ethical conduct. Learn how to embed constructive risk behaviours throughout the organisation as a strategic asset. | Managing Risk in the Age of AI Explore the opportunities and emerging exposures created as AI becomes an operational risk-management reality. Gain a practical approach to AI risk governance, cybersecurity and responsible organisational adoption. Apply actionable tools to manage AI risk, whether your organisation is adopting, evaluating or resisting AI. | Jonathan Crisp BarnOwl The IRMSA Risk Report 2026 Insights Explore key insights from the IRMSA 2026/2027 Risk Report through an integrated risk-information perspective. Consider how structured report data can be used to identify trends, emerging risks and decision-relevant intelligence. See how AI-supported analysis can help risk professionals extract meaningful, actionable insights from risk data. | Michael Davies Managing Director Pax Resilience Building Resilience in a World of Polycrisis and Permacrisis Integration of risk and BCM to build a more resilient organisation. | The Risk Court The generations take their places as judge, prosecution, defence and jury as the case for young risk professionals is put on trial. Can the next generation prove they are ready to step up, take responsibility and deliver? |
14:45 | NETWORKING TEA BREAK & EXHIBITION | ||||
| 15:15 | Debate Two sides. Different perspectives. One critical risk. A robust debate tackling one of the key issues shaping South Africa’s risk landscape Facilitator: Jeremy Maggs Panel: Senele Mbatha Chief Risk Officer, Discovery | ||||
| 16:00 | Closing Keynote Speaker When the path ahead is uncertain, leadership determines what comes next. An inspiring closing keynote on the courage, resilience and conviction needed to lead people through adversity and turn challenge into possibility. John Smit South African former rugby union player | ||||
| 16:45 | Close and Thank You Yvonne Mothibi | ||||
| 17:00 | Close Devi Sankaree Govender | ||||
| CLOSE | |||||