SANDRA CROUS
 

PaySpace, a payroll & HR SaaS platform, welcomed Sandra Crous as Managing Director in 2019. With a passion for technology, Crous seized the opportunity to deliver the next chapter of expansion and growth for PaySpace, and she’s succeeded.

Starting at VIP Payroll, and quickly ascending the ranks, she left Sage after a 27-year tenure, having contributed to the impressive customer base of 51,000.
Under her leadership, PaySpace has seen accelerated growth in the five years with Crous at the helm. The company now offers automatic legislative updates and compliance in 43 African countries, and the UK. Brazil is set to launch in the latter half of 2024.

Her journey from sales rookie to Managing Director is testament to her ability to break barriers and deliver growth. Her exceptional leadership skills, ability to inspire teams and navigate complex markets underpinned by a talent for strategy has left an indelible mark on the payroll and HR sector in Africa.  

ROSEANNE HARRIS 

Roseanne Harris is Health Policy Actuary and head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Discovery Health and also adjunct professor in the School of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Wits University. She was president of the Actuarial Society of South Africa in 2016/17 and is immediate past president of the International Actuarial Association. 

Roseanne has been an active participant in health reform discussions in SA for the last 25 years.

STEFAN VAN HEERDEN

Stefan van Heerden is a Chartered Accountant and the CFO of Microsoft South Africa. He is responsible for driving strategic resource allocation, ensuring optimal returns aligned with the company strategy.

Stefan is an advocate for finance transformation and leads the Modern Finance engagements for the Africa Finance team. Stefan has a wealth of experience driving top line growth and strategic investments across Africa, having previously served as the Enterprise Commercial Finance Lead for Microsoft Africa.

RASHID PATEL

Rashid Patel is a Chartered Accountant and the Stat and Tax Controller at Microsoft overseeing local reporting, cash management, audit support and tax for the South African market. Rashid is a seasoned finance professional with extensive experience in statutory and tax reporting, audit support, and business performance management, having worked for leading multinational companies such as Microsoft, Schneider Electric, and General Electric, in various roles and regions.

Rashid holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Pretoria.

JENNIFER FABER
 

Jennifer Faber is registered with the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners as a Master Tax Practitioner, having commenced her tax career in 2000. She has been an admitted attorney since 2002 and is one of the founding partners of Faber Goërtz Ellis Austen Inc.  Jennifer specialises in tax litigation, in the form of objections and appeals as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution in respect of income tax assessments, many of which have been resolved in the taxpayers’ favour, pursuant to Special Income Tax Court hearings. She also advises extensively on tax compliance issues and the structuring of commercial transactions to maximise efficiency from a tax perspective. Jennifer also specialises in property and related transactions.

Jennifer Faber is registered with the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners as a Master Tax Practitioner, having commenced her tax career in 2000. She has been an admitted attorney since 2002 and is one of the founding partners of Faber Goërtz Ellis Austen Inc.  Jennifer specialises in tax litigation, in the form of objections and appeals as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution in respect of income tax assessments, many of which have been resolved in the taxpayers’ favour, pursuant to Special Income Tax Court hearings. She also advises extensively on tax compliance issues and the structuring of commercial transactions to maximise efficiency from a tax perspective. Jennifer also specialises in property and related transactions.

NADINE MATHER

Nadine Mather is an experienced data protection and employment law attorney and is a partner at Bowmans.
Nadine has been recognised as a Next Generation Partner by The Legal 500 and has a demonstrated history of working in the employment law area. She advises on a wide range of employment related issues, including corporate restructuring, collective bargaining, restraints of trade, employment equity and harassment.  

Nadine also specialises in data protection. She has participated in a number of panel discussions with the Information Regulator and has been invited to be a guest lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. Nadine advises on all aspects of data protection laws including, for example, the transferring of personal information abroad, data breach notifications and actions, and compliance with the provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act. 
 
Nadine is a thought leader and has conducted various presentations in respect of, amongst others, mental health in the workplace, data protection and compliance, and gender-based violence in the workplace.

She is also an author of the Employment Law Update column in the De Rebus magazine.

LEANNE VAN WYK

Leanne van Wyk has provided legal services to the financial services industry for over 25 years. She has a Masters in Law. Leanne is and has been, active in a number of industry organisations, including twice past president and honorary member of the Pension Lawyers Association, editor of an international legal journal and committees of the Institute of Retirement Funds Africa. Leanne also represents an industry body at the FSCA’s retirement funds and market conduct committees.

Leanne regularly speaks on employee benefit topics at leading international and national conferences as well as providing publications and articles on matters with a legal or regulatory focus. Leanne has fund trustee and principal officer experience. She is currently Head of Legal and Compliance and Company Secretary of the Sygnia group of companies.

CAREN GUARD
 

Caren Guard is the CEO of Vanilla Payroll (Pty) Ltd and was formerly a director at FinSolve Solutions, a family-owned business established in 1988 that developed tax software. Caren has a strong background in tax, having studied the subject through Unisa, and possesses extensive experience in the payroll industry.

Initially involved in sales, Caren's natural flair for design, combined with her experience in handling support queries, enabled her to contribute significantly to new software developments. During her tenure at FinSolve, she had the opportunity to collaborate closely with the Development Team on a new payroll system, "Vanilla Payroll." Caren played a key role in working on the UX/UI and integrating user-friendly information to enhance the client experience.

In 2009, leveraging her vast payroll and tax expertise, Caren led the rebranding of Vanilla Payroll. Since then, the company has experienced exponential growth. As a national company, Vanilla Payroll now offers exceptional service to a diverse range of businesses, from small companies with five employees to large organizations with over 4,500 employees.

With the support of a dynamic team based in Johannesburg and East London, Vanilla Payroll benefits from in-house developers who stay at the forefront of the latest technology and AI advancements in the payroll industry. This ongoing innovation helps strengthen and streamline payroll processing, ensuring that Vanilla Payroll remains a leader in the field.

ZANELE NJAPHA 
 

In the face of disruptive change, Zanele assists organisations to navigate various transitions and become future-fit by cracking the unlearning code. She does this by facilitating the understanding that learning, unlearning and relearning must be the crux and heart of an organisation’s DNA if they are serious about sustained relevance in a shifting climate. 

As an entrepreneur, Zanele presents programmes for her clients to help them stay ahead of the game. As she says, “The only way to remain sustainable in an ever-changing climate, is to learn, unlearn and relearn.”  Through cultivating key skills, Zanele assists organizations innovate and develop competitive and cutting-edge products, services and systems. Zanele presents with uncanny wit, humour and engaging insights wrapped in memorable stories. She is a well-seasoned and thought-provoking speaker who engages and captures various audiences.

From personal transitions such as moving homes, welcoming a new addition to the family or saying goodbye, to transitions in the workplace such as mergers and changes in leadership, we are always in transition. Zanele aims to uses key principles of unlearning to help clients transition successfully.

In the face of disruptive change, Zanele assists organisations and individuals to:
1. Understand what the future has in store.
2. Design and strategize, based on industry trends and shifts, what their 'NEXT' is. 
3. Transition successfully to their 'NEXT' and stay there! 

She does this by facilitating the understanding that learning, unlearning and relearning must be the crux and heart of our DNA if we, as teams and individuals are serious about sustained relevance in a shifting climate.

DESMOND STRUWIG

A seasoned business and technology leader, Desmond Struwig has been guiding diverse technology businesses to success for more than two decades. 
 

His extensive experience includes consulting with C-suite executives to drive organisational development, streamline business operations, and implement digital strategy and business transformation. 
 

As the CEO of payroll and HR solutions provider CRS Technologies, Des is dedicated to fostering agility, customer-centricity and innovation within the organisations he partners with. By leveraging the power of strategy, technology and AI, he helps these organisations become employers their employees love.