SAOUG Board of Directors

Penelope has over 25 years’ experience in the IT Consulting Industry, delivering various solutions ranging from On-Prem, Cloud IaaS and SaaS Implementations, Human Resources (HCM), Payroll, Internet, ERP, Legislative and Financial Solutions.

Penelope has gained excellent experience in the consulting and programme/ project management field, with exposure to a range of industries and environments.

Penelope is passionate about growing and mentoring talent, participating in various mentorship roles and is currently part of the Global Mentorship Initiative.

Jaco has held numerous roles in the IT and Oracle Industry, starting his career as a Project Manager and then moved into a more technical and managerial/executive Role, but his latest challenge has been helping Enginatics improve Sales and design through his contributions as a Solution Architect.

As an inquisitive individual he research and make subject matter his own, thus being able to apply this to the betterment of colleagues and customers alike. Throughout the two decades he has mentored a number of juniors who has risen through the ranks

With solid experience in the IT industry as an Oracle DBA, Applications Architect and Lead Enterprise Architect, Lesley further holds a PhD Information Technology Management (University of Johannesburg).

Dr. Matshwane has over the last five (5) years been involved in one of the largest Cloud transformation projects in the Sub-Saharan region. He has previously held various interesting and enriching roles in the Public Sector, Finance and Telecoms industries from which he has continued to master his design & strategy, communications, research, and managerial skills.

Muziwandile Zwane

Special Interest Groups Director

sigs@saoug.co.za

Muziwandile is an Experienced Oracle professional,  working on various Oracle products and offerings.

Muziwandile has worked in various sectors, from Logistics , Energy, Engineering, Banking, and Health.

He is a highly motivated individual, who enjoys learning, and sharing skills acquired throughout his work experience.

Ellah Nkosi

Marketing and Conference

Director

marketing@saoug.co.za

Ellah is a seasoned expert with over 18 years ICT and working experience. Ellah has operated at a leader role serving at multiple business unit management committees a within the financial sector.

Ellah’s career spans across multiple roles in HR and IT i.e. Senior Specialist, Functional Specialist, ERP Applications Manager, and the HR Information Management function.

As a leader of different teams during her career, she has had the opportunity to direct and drive the execution of strategy through teams of professionals ensuring compliance and adherence to corporate governance, budgetary constraints, and alignment to business goals. The teams she leads include Developers, Functional Specialists, Business analysts, Human Resource Administrators and Business Partners, HR Reporting specialist.

Saadia Sali

Marketing and Conference

Director

events@saoug.co.za

Saadia Sali has over 12 year’s experience in Oracle Applications. She currently holds the position of Sales Account Executive selling across Oracle JDE, EBS, Fusion and Technical Managed Services. Prior to joining her sales role, she had a functional role implementing and supporting Oracle products, namely Oracle EBS and Cloud.

Saadia’s educational background includes an Honours of Commerce in Business Management with a focus on Human Resource Management.

In addition to her academic qualifications, she holds certifications in Oracle Recruiting Cloud 2019, Oracle EBS R12 Human Capital Management, and Oracle User Productivity Kit implementation, which further underscore her expertise in Oracle systems.

Francois Marais

Cloud Engineering Leader, Oracle Corporation

Francois is a Cloud Engineering Leader for South Africa and brings more than 30 years of experience in the IT industry and spent the last 27 years at Oracle. He has extensive experience on Oracle’s Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (OCI), Hybrid and Oracle on-premise solutions. Experience in architecting Integration solutions and is responsible for building and managing a healthy sales pipeline in all industries and working with sales to qualify, influence and close opportunities. Played a pivotal role aligning and presenting innovative technology solutions to meet the business requirements within our customers and partners accounts, bringing together both cloud and on-premise products from multiple Oracle lines of business to best meet their needs.
 
Title: Innovate with Oracle Cloud and Gen AI
Today, many organisations want generative AI for their enterprise needs. But they don’t know where to start, and the result is they’re fixating on the wrong aspects. They’re testing the model’s accuracy of generic, Internet-wide knowledge. They’re comparing detailed capability after detailed capability. They’re citing security and privacy as excuses to not get started with the most innovative technology to come onto the market in decades. Oracle brings AI to every layer of the stack and can help you to innovation your business.
 

Arthur Goldstuck

CEO, World Wide Worx

Arthur Goldstuck is an award-winning writer, analyst and technology commentator, founder of technology market research organisation World Wide Worx, and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. He has received lifetime achievement recognition in multiple sectors, including the Distinguished Service in ICT Award in 2013, Southern African Speakers Hall of Fame in 2021, and Southern African Educators Hall of Fame in 2023. He is author of 20 books, including his current best-seller, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI.

 

Title: AI goes hitchhiking across Africa
AI is beginning to sound like Africa, with language models supporting local languages, and applications emerging across the continent to address the needs of the region. Arthur Goldstuck takes you on a journey of discovery, innovation and inspiration.

Sandhya Ramdhany

Country Leader & Snr Legal Director, Oracle South Africa

Sandhya Ramdhany is Oracle Corporation’s Country Leader and Legal Director for South Africa. Sandhya is the lead lawyer for Oracle’s business operations in South Africa and the SADC regions and was recently appointed as the Country Leader. Sandhya is an attorney of the High Court of South Africa with over twenty years experience. She is a graduate of the University of Kwa Zulu Natal, with a postgraduate Management Advancement Program Certificate obtained from the Wits Business School. 

Sandhya began her career at Oracle in 2013 after spending six years at Accenture. Prior to leading the South African and SADC Legal Department, Sandhya was Senior Legal Counsel for Oracle’s business in East and West Africa. Having worked extensively across the African continent, Sandhya advises the Corporation on matters relating to data privacy, GDPR, POPIA, intellectual property and the legal intricacies of cloud computing. She has led negotiations on complex, high-value transactions for Oracle. Sandhya is a Director and Company Secretary on the Oracle South Africa Board and Director on the Oracle Senegal Board.

Debra Lilley

Oracle Ace Director

Debra Lilley is Vice President of customer success at Inoapps and an Oracle ACE Director. She is a board member of Oracle Developer and Technology User Group (ODTUG) and a past president of the UK Oracle User Group. Debra led the Global User Group working with Oracle during the development of Oracle Fusion Applications. She has worked with Oracle Applications and Technology since 1996. Debra is also a chartered director.

 

Title: Oracle Applications Unlimited Customers — Put an End to Cloud Confusion
As an Oracle Applications Unlimited customer, are you confused about your next step? Should you move to Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications or run your current application on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)? Or is doing nothing the right option? Eliminate the confusion and understand the factors you should consider and the logic behind the available options. Evaluate the roadmaps and explore routes other organisations have taken through actual case studies and the reasoning behind their decision.