Dear Leader,

I feel we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to remind you of the dynamic, multi-faceted, insightful and interactive conversation that we’ll be reveling in this evening. Lesiba is an incredible leader, who - through his hard work, passion and dedication - has summited mountains that once were, and are at times still seen as, inaccessible to others. He’s also had to cross valleys. Most wonderfully, Lesiba is both good people and one of the most authentic people I know.

I am looking forward to introducing him to you and you to him.

Leadership, Tech and Career Conversation with Lesiba Mothata

The financial services industry is a leading early adopter of disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence. At the same time, financial services companies are highly regulated and deal with highly sensitive information that is tied to the individual. Large data sets are processed every minute of everyday and banks as well as investment companies are favored targets for cybercriminals.

Let’s get together to engage on what it takes to lead in the financial services industry in the age of data and AI.

_{A Little Context}

We live in a world where data and AI are becoming ubiquitous. In financial services, the use of Artificial Intelligence is wide ranging from risk assessments for loan approvals to predicting the performance of investment asset classes and individual investments. A diverse range of data points are combined and analysed to assess risk and inform risk mitigation strategies. This trend is expected to continue.

According to Grant Thornton, spending on AI in the Investment Management space is expected to exceed $17 billion in 2030, rising from $2.6 billion in 2022.

We’re facing a new world where the core of asset management - insights, analysis, decision making - as well as other elements along the process will be supported by AI-generated predictive insights as well as AI powered risk assessment engines. A high degree of automation is expected. 

However, the black box nature and limited explainability of many AI solutions creates a conundrum when it comes to transparency and accountability. What will regulatory compliance and oversight look like? With a high degree of automation expected, what are the implications for the work force? As open source AI models become increasingly available empowering smaller, more agile financial technology companies, what implications do investment management companies face on the competitive landscape?

What, When and Where

I am excited to invite you to join Lesiba and I, as we look into the opportunities and risks presented by data and AI for the financial services sector more broadly and asset management more specifically.

The conversation titled, Leveraging Tech: Leading Financial Service Organisations in the Age of Data & AI, will take place online on Thursday, 26 September 2024 (19:00 SAST | 19:00 CET | 13:00 PM EDT).

About Lesiba Mothata

Lesiba Mothata is an Economist and Investor extraordinaire. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Benguela Global Fund Managers. He boasts a wealth of financial services experience, specifically within the asset management industry, having spent time excelling in both technical and business leadership roles. His career has seen him add value at a number of large institutions including the South African Reserve Bank, Investec Private Bank, Nedbank Treasury and Coris-Capital. He spent more than a decade at Alexander Forbes, where he held various strategic roles such as Executive Chief Economist, Chief Client Officer and Head of Strategic Clients.

In addition to his asset management role, Lesiba speaks regularly about the South African economy, decoding economic trends and making recommendations about the actions needed to improve and build greater resilience into the South African economy. It is in this capacity that I first met and worked with Lesiba at the Black Management Forum in South Africa. This is an area where his passion and dedication to land, people and country shines through. It is also an area where his astute understanding of local and global economies as well as financial markets scintillates for all to observe.

Amongst his many qualifications, he counts a Master of Commerce in Financial Economics from the University of Johannesburg, a Bachelor of Economics (Honors) from Wits University, a General Management Programme in Business and Commerce from Havard University as well as Investment and Management Accountant certifications.

About Inno Yolo

Inno Yolo is a learning, innovation and advisory company focused on digital and technology strategy development, technology innovation as well as shaping the responsible, strategic and practical use of new technologies with a special focus on data and artificial intelligence. As part of the founder’s commitment to building leadership skills, enabling learning and supporting career growth in the technology field, Inno Yolo runs a Leadership, Tech and Career Conversation Event Series.

Join us for the ORADA Conference this October!

Dear Leader,

Allow me to invite you to take a look at our speaker roster for the ORADA Conference taking place from Saturday, 26 October - Sunday 27 October 2024. It’s phenomenal: www.oradaconference.com

PS: If you think someone else would benefit from these conversations and our periodic newsletter, do share our sign-up page with them