Helen Constantinides

Group Chief Information Officer (CIO)
– AVBOB Mutual Assurance Society

PERSONAL SUMMARY
• Executive
• Transformation and Servant leader
• Strategic thinker
• Technologist and Digital at heart

CAREER TRAJECTORY
Helen Constantinides’ career started in the third year of her degree. She was asked to lecture while completing her studies, and says this gave her a head start in the direction she wanted to go in the IT industry. She went on to work for leading global tech companies, continuously learning, managing teams and portfolios, and building next generation solutions for customers.

COMPANY OVERVIEW
The AVBOB Group is Africa’s largest Mutual Society, providing a one-stop insurance and services. The company is 8000 strong, has an extensive national infrastructure consisting of a more than 380 branch network, a manufacturing plant and a partner broker network. AVBOB strives to make affordable insurance available so that people have access to a dignified send-off when their time comes.

WHAT ROLE DO YOU PLAY?
I’m a business leader first and a technology leader second, because a modern CIO needs to be fierce about technology and understand how technology can be used to enable and serve the business. I’m also an executive, strategist thought leader and people leader. A
transformation leader who understands that digital transformation in the Group is fundamentally an inclusion program that strives to integrate digital technology into all areas of our business, fundamentally changing how we operate and deliver value to our members and consumers.

WHAT ARE YOUR TECH FOCUS AREAS?
Developing and driving a technology agenda in tackling fundamental changes to both our enterprise architecture and software development. Our modernisation strategy is an integral part of the business strategy as we modernise our business applications and transform our underlying enterprise architecture, enabling more agile development, enhancements and new customer services. It’s imperative that when we roll out digital solutions, we also deliver on digital trust.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST ICT ISSUE?
We need to enable technology to do the right thing for the business and to bring IT closer to the business. The pace of change is dictated by our business strategy, priorities and timelines, as well as external forces like customer trends, local markets and competition, which influence and pressurise our timelines. Because our reputation is our number-one priority, we would rather do it in the right way for our customers.