Our Leadership

Chief Operations Officer: Business Process Management

Irene Nel

Expertise

Irene’s core expertise is in operations – problem-solving, analysing statistics, refining processes, and sourcing the systems to support both the vision and the people who drive its delivery. Over the course of her career, she has also gained deep knowledge and experience in managing operational teams and guiding individuals on their unique journeys.

Career highlights

With over 30 years’ experience in the financial and customer service contact centre industries – 20 of them in managerial roles – Irene has continued to enhance her knowledge and skills across a range of disciplines since joining the company in 2012.

Leadership

Irene’s democratic leadership style is inspired by her belief that the unique ideas of everyone in the team contribute to business success. She is passionate about the growth and development of people and making a difference in as many lives as possible.  

Chief Commercial Officer

Musa F Sambo

Expertise

Musa has a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Henley Business School in the UK. His core expertise is in entrepreneurship, strategy, innovation and innovation execution, strategic relationship development, and commercialisation.

Career highlights

Early in his career, Musa founded a business that was identified by Investec as one of the top 12 high-growth potential businesses in South Africa. It was then acquired within five years of inception.

As a key player in commercialising Digicall’s group services, acquisitions, and developing new business channels, Musa has been instrumental in building out its Pan-African operations. He is also an Executive Director, board member of Digicall South Africa and Chairman of the Digicall Transformation Committee.

Leadership

Musa has a servant leadership style and strongly believes in creating an environment that enables people to advance themselves.

Managing Director: Business Process Outsourcing

Justus Fourie

Expertise

Justus is a chartered accountant with 14 years’ executive experience in BPO, taking the lead on commercial, finance, and real estate. At board level, he participates in defining strategies for growth, people and technology.

Career highlights

Before joining Digicall, Justus had the privilege of working for PwC for eight years, in London and New York City.

As a member of the executive team, he has helped to grow Digicall’s SA-based offshore BPO business from 120 people in 2016 to over 2 500 currently. He was also instrumental in establishing Digicall’s BPO business in Woodstock, Cape Town, and won the “Bossin’ It” award at the 2022 Cape BPO annual awards.

Leadership

As a leader, Justus believes in identifying potential and nurturing it. Top of his agenda is to grow the business by providing development opportunities for people to grow. He also encourages his teams to constantly challenge and improve the way things are done, to stay ahead.

Chief Executive Officer

Stèfan Naudé

Expertise

Stèfan has a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Management Accounting. He completed his articles at a big 4 audit firm and worked at Arthur Andersen, Deloitte Consulting and Murray and Roberts in various roles before joining Digicall. His expertise lies primarily in the fields of financial management, strategy, leadership, innovation, and executive management.

Career highlights

Stèfan joined the Digicall Group in 2004 and has been involved in all aspects of the business, from finance and operations to executive management, since its start-up phase through to where it is today.

Leadership

As a leader, Stèfan is collaborative and output focused, never losing sight of the end goal, and staying focused in achieving strategic and sustainable growth. For him, success is not a destination but a journey, and he gains great satisfaction in seeing his own and his colleagues’ growth along the way. 

Group Chief Information Officer

Johan Kriel

Expertise

Johan has a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Artificial Intelligence, Project Management and Security, and is also a Microsoft-certified Solutions Developer and an accredited Prince2 Project Manager. He has a deep understanding of software development and security as well as a wealth of experience in designing resilient and cost-effective architectures.

He brings big-picture strategic thinking in the context of practical execution constraints, and his approach involves looking at everything around him, determining the future state, and then driving the strategy to get there.

Career highlights

At Digicall, Johan’s notable successes include execution of the public/private cloud strategy and implementation of a bespoke commercial claims management system.

Leadership

A firm believer in curiosity and continuous improvement, Johan acknowledges the wisdom he has gained from colleagues throughout his career. As a leader, he has built an engaged, committed, high-performance IT software and infrastructure team that supports the group’s agility.

Group Chief Business Intelligence Officer

Zunaid Patel

Expertise

Zunaid has a Bachelor of Science degree in IT and is an ICFP-accredited Forensic Practitioner of South Africa. His core expertise lies in technology, data and analytics, innovation, anti-money laundering (AML), anti-bribery and corruption (ABC), and fraud investigations.

Career highlights

Previously an Associate Director at KPMG South Africa’s forensic practice, Zunaid started Digicall’s Business Intelligence function in 2018. He has since grown the team into a strong unit that has built the Digicall data warehouse and provides reporting and analytics services to companies within the group.

In 2021, Zunaid became head of Digicall’s Symbility offering (a SaaS solution for clients) and was also appointed to the board of directors of Advance Call Fraud & Ethics Hotline. He is now a director of Digicall SA and part of the executive committee.

Leadership

As an innovative, collaborative and inclusive leader, Zunaid is a firm believer in the value of constant learning and improvement, and he challenges teams to strive for these things in everything they do.

Group Chief People Officer

Debbie Victor

Expertise

Debbie has a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Clinical and Industrial Psychology as well as extensive executive management experience spanning areas such as talent management, diversity, equity and inclusivity, organisational design, HR strategy design, and organisational culture and engagement.

Career highlights

Debbie built an HR consulting business that was acquired by the Digicall Group in 2013, and she regards being part of Digicall’s dynamic, collaborative leadership team as a privilege.

A subject matter expert on numerous TV and radio shows, she was also a member of the Workforce of the Future panel discussion and work group at the SA Sustainability Summit in 2017.

Leadership

An empowering, supportive and motivational leader, Debbie believes in leveraging the strength of having diverse views, skills and insights around the table. She credits her unique approach to her innate passion for understanding what drives people to be their best, which comes from her many years of experience in the field. Debbie believes that Digicall’s culture of valuing, supporting and developing people enables her passion of unlocking human potential in an age of corporate disruption.

Group Chief Financial Officer

Conrad Erasmus

Expertise

Conrad is a chartered accountant, financial expert and business strategist whose strengths include the ability to critically analyse information with a problem-solving mindset, organise resources, and do what is necessary to move forward.

Career highlights

He cites working with highly intelligent, creative and wonderful people, from whom he has learned and grown both as a professional and as a human being, as the highlight of his career.

Leadership

As a transformational leader, Conrad encourages people to innovate and develop new ways to grow and improve. He believes in giving trusted employees the independence to make decisions and supporting new problem-solving approaches.

Director

Hendrik Kluever

Expertise

Hendrik is a chartered accountant with an Honours degree in Accounting Science. He brings many years of experience in solutions, finance, transaction support, structures, and management to the group.

Career highlights

A director of Glasfit Holdings since 2008 and a trustee of the Ava Trust since 2013, Hendrik served as Group CFO of Blue Pie Investments between 2014 and 2021 and is now its Group CEO and director of various subsidiaries.

He was nominated to the board of Digicall Holdings in 2016.

Leadership

Hendrik believes that taking responsibility in the multitude of interactions that Digicall has with various stakeholders daily is core to its success. He focuses on the long term while keeping an eye open for opportunities and learning from mistakes.

Chief Operating Officer

Duncan Hardie

Expertise

Duncan is a Bachelor of Arts and has a Master’s degree in Business Administration as well as extensive experience across the corporate and private sectors, including banking, finance, assistance and loyalty. He leverages his customer relationship and marketing expertise to build longstanding strategic business alliances and partnerships.

Career highlights

Having worked for leading brands such as Aspire Lifestyles, Mastercard and Commonwealth Bank, and over 11 years with International SOS – where he was Regional General Manager for the Middle East / Africa, India and Turkey regions and primarily focused on the premium call centre roadside assistance business – Duncan joined Digicall Assist in 2021.

Leadership

As COO, Duncan focuses on developing client relationships and the provider network.

Chief Executive Officer

Michael Curtin

Expertise

Michael is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and has a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He has played a major role in the ongoing success of the automotive team since joining the business in 2004, with proven growth and retention via product-market fit and genuine partnerships.

Career highlights

Having also worked for leading brands such as Robert Bosch and Siemens VDO, and as Southern Region Manager for Melbourne’s Holden Special Vehicles, Michael’s extensive experience in both wholesale and retail aspects of the automotive industry has seen him build trusted client relationships with brands such as Ferrari, Suncorp, Youi, GIO, AAMI, RAM Trucks, Woolworths, Club 4×4, Lotus, Kia and more.

Leadership

As CEO, Michael has overall responsibility for Digicall Assist throughout the Australasia region. His strong focus on the end-customer includes Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scoring for all staff and service providers and, as a proponent of innovative tech, he ensures that the company’s services always deliver an optimal client experience.

Executive Chairman, Digicall Group

Altmann Allers

Digicall’s founder and Executive Chairman, Altmann Allers is a visionary behind the success of the group. He believes that prosperity can be achieved fairly and honestly benefitting everyone in the ecosystem. Having started the Digicall journey in 2003, his efforts to innovate in the business process outsourcing (BPO) space has established Digicall as an industry leader. Under Altmann’s guidance, Digicall expanded into territories such as the UK and Australia, cementing Digicall’s place as a global contender in BPO. Allers’ passion for Digicall is equalled in his adoration of his daughter, and his love for rugby.

Altmann Allers

Debbie Victor

Hendrik Kluever

Conrad Erasmus

Johan Kriel

Zunaid Patel

Stèfan Naudé

Musa F Sambo

Irene Nel

Justus Fourie

Michael Curtin

Duncan Hardie

Gary Gilburd

Mike Harfield

Ben Jones

Andrew Law

Peter Doveren

Ian Gerleman

Our group

BPM

BPO