Kevin Jacoby, CFO of the City of Cape Town, has been named South Africa’s CFO of the Year at the 2025 CFO Awards.
The CFO of the Year was announced on 11 November at the “Oscars of Finance”, which took place at the Polo Room, Inanda Club in Sandton, Johannesburg. The award was handed over by Michelle Pienaar, finance director of Marsh McLennan Africa.
In addition to walking off with the prestigious CFO of the Year title, Kevin also took home the Compliance & Governance Award, which was handed to him by Bongi Ngoma, head of audit for AGSA.
With a career in local government that began at 19, Kevin bridges the gap between politics and administration with integrity and precision. He played a leading role in enabling the City of Cape Town to escalate its capital delivery plan from R5.9 billion to R9.4 billion annually, and has redefined the role of CFO in the public sector.
Kevin is widely respected for his focus on ethics and governance. By building high-performing teams and driving innovation, he has transformed the finance function into a strategic, enabling force.
Spear REIT CFO Christiaan Barnard was named the Young CFO of the Year, receiving his award from Akesh Lalla, the senior director of financial services industries (Africa & Mauritius) for Oracle.
Chrisitaan is a firm believer that work should be seen, not heard, and his achievements speak volumes. He was appointed CFO at just 27 years old, after completing his articles in the US.
He has built Spear’s financial systems from the ground up, pioneered its capital allocation strategy for income-generating solar systems and reporting thereof and influenced B-BBEE policy discussions at national level. He’s guided peers, and uplifted employees through playing a vital role in the implementation of life-changing share and risk cover schemes. He ensures every decision considers people, planet and profit.
Andisa Zinja was named Public Sector CFO of the Year, and her award was handed to her by Christine Ramon, 2018 CFO of the Year and non-executive director.
Although she is now the finance director at the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, Andisa was nominated and awarded for the impact she made as the CFO at the Council for Medical Schemes. She steered the institution from financial crisis to stability with courage, clarity and integrity.
Through fearless accountability, she restored ethical governance, rebuilt trust and empowered her team to think beyond numbers. For Andisa, leadership is not just about balancing books – it’s about building a future. She champions youth, challenges exclusionary systems and drives real transformation.
Winning formulas
The Transformation & Empowerment Award was presented to Dineo Molefe, MTN South Africa CFO, by Vuyolwethu Mdleleni, senior direct sales consultant for Old Mutual. Dineo was unable to attend the ceremony and her award was received by Boitumelo Gasealahwe on her behalf.
She has elevated the finance function into a strategic partner driving growth, resilience and transformation. She has led the unlocking of working capital, device financing solutions and pioneered MTN SA’s first AI-led fraud prevention initiative.
The Finance & ESG Award went to Bothwell Mazarura, the outgoing CFO at Kumba Iron Ore, handed over by Head of communities of Executive Communities, Sungula Nkabinde. Bothwell has been a key driver of Kumba’s strategy focused on unlocking full value from the core of the business, positioning for a sustainable future and maximising stakeholder returns. Key to this was the reconfiguration of the business in 2024 to match deteriorating logistics performance.
Carel Snyman, group CFO of Altron, took the Finance Transformation Award, handed over by Ashona Kooblall, group CFO of iOCO Technology Group. He also won the Strategy Execution Award, which was handed over by Mark Odendaal, strategic account lead for Workday. He has led finance transformation at Altron, shifting the team’s focus from compliance to commercial value creation. He played a pivotal role in fixing the balance sheet, reducing debt and driving cash conversion, while embedding a culture of accountability and ownership.
Jurgens Myburgh, group CFO at Mediclinic International, scooped the Finance & Technology Award, which was presented by Liezle White, director: retention & renewals – payroll HR & accounting, for Sage Africa & Middle East. Jurgens has played a pivotal role in the finance transformation within Mediclinic International, helping steer the company through a changing environment, while strengthening the core of the business.
CFO for Oceana Group, Zaf Mahomed, won the High-Performance Team Award, handed over by Claudelle Von Eck, founder of Brave Inflexions. Known for collaborative decision-making. Zaf believes in building ethical, high-performing teams and preparing successors to ensure sustainable leadership and business continuity.
The full list of 2025 CFO Awards winners:
● CFO of the Year – Kevin Jacoby, CFO, City of Cape Town
● Young CFO of the Year – Christiaan Barnard, CFO, Spear REIT
● Public Sector CFO of the Year – Andisa Zinja, CFO, Council of Medical Schemes
● Strategy Execution Award – Carel Snyman, group CFO, Altron
● Transformation & Empowerment Award – Dineo Molefe, CFO, MTN South Africa
● High-Performance Team Award – Zaf Mahomed, CFO, Oceana Group
● Finance & ESG Award - Bothwell Mazarura, outgoing CFO, Kumba Iron Ore
● Compliance & Governance Award – Kevin Jacoby, CFO, City of Cape Town
● Finance Transformation Award – Carel Snyman, group CFO, Altron
● Finance & Technology Award – Jurgens Myburgh, group CFO, Mediclinic International
The judges for the 2025 CFO Awards were:
- Ben Marx, director: school of accounting, University of Johannesburg
- Bongi Ngoma, national head of audit, AGSA; 2021 CFO of the Year
- Christine Ramon, non-executive director; former CFO, AngloGold Ashanti; 2018 CFO of the Year
- Christo Els, senior partner, Webber Wentzel
- Claudelle von Eck, non-executive director and founder, Brave Inflexions; former CEO, IIA SA
- Kevin Black, chairperson, Deloitte Africa
- Leon Crouse, non-executive director; former group CFO of Vodacom and Remgro; winner: 2016 CFO Awards Lifetime Achievement Award
- Ramasela Ganda, CEO, ZEDA; 2017 Public Sector CFO of the Year
- Shabeer Khan, accountant-general, National Treasury of South Africa; 2020 Young CFO of the Year, 2020 Public Sector CFO of the Year
- Victor Sekese, CEO, SNG Grant Thornton
The Annual CFO Awards is proudly supported by Award sponsors iOCO Technology Group, Marsh, Old Mutual Corporate, Oracle, Sage and Workday.
Table sponsors at the event included: Anchor Capital, BDO South Africa , Bidvest Prestige, Drayton Glendower, Harmony Gold, MakwaIT, Momentum Health, MTN, Proconics Holdings, STANLIB; Associate partners, AICPA & CIMA, Allan Gray, Caseware Africa and Yellow Card.
