Are you a commercially astute technology leader with the vision to shape the future of digital entertainment, betting and live sporting experiences?
We are looking for an exceptional Chief Technology Officer to join a leading South African business operating at the intersection of racing, sports betting, digital platforms, live events, media and customer entertainment.
Reporting directly to the CEO and serving on EXCO, this is not a conventional IT leadership role. You will own the technology agenda for a complex, high-volume, highly regulated business where uptime, speed, security, innovation and customer experience are non-negotiable.
You will lead the technology strategy, modernise the enterprise architecture, strengthen cybersecurity and data capability, and build a technology function capable of supporting ambitious commercial growth across digital, retail, venue and operational channels.
The Opportunity
This role is ideal for a technology executive who thrives in fast-moving, transaction-heavy environments and understands that technology is no longer a support function; it is the engine behind customer growth, operational resilience and competitive advantage.
You will play a central role in shaping the organisation’s future across:
- Digital betting and customer platforms
- Mobile, web and omnichannel customer journeys
- Live sporting and racing event technology
- Real-time data, analytics and personalisation
- Retail, venue and operational technology
- Platform modernisation and cloud transformation
- Cybersecurity, resilience and regulatory compliance
- Technology investment, commercial prioritisation and vendor strategy
What You Will Be Responsible For
Lead the Technology Vision
- Define and execute a clear technology, digital and data strategy aligned to the organisation’s commercial ambitions.
- Partner closely with the CEO, EXCO and Board to position technology as a strategic driver of growth, customer engagement and operational performance.
- Build a prioritised technology investment roadmap that balances innovation, resilience, security and commercial return.
- Translate complex technology opportunities and risks into practical executive decisions.
Transform the Digital and Customer Experience
- Lead the evolution of customer-facing platforms across web, mobile, retail and live-event channels.
- Drive digital transformation initiatives that improve acquisition, retention, engagement and customer lifetime value.
- Strengthen real-time data, analytics and personalisation capabilities to support more intelligent customer experiences.
- Identify practical opportunities across AI, automation, cloud-native services, advanced analytics and emerging technologies.
Own Technology Delivery and Operational Resilience
- Lead the full technology ecosystem, including applications, infrastructure, cloud services, networks, data platforms, integrations, service management and end-user technology.
- Ensure mission-critical systems are secure, scalable, resilient and available in a 24/7 transactional environment.
- Embed strong delivery disciplines across engineering, product, DevOps, architecture, service management and technology operations.
- Strengthen incident management, disaster recovery, business continuity, change control and operational governance.
- Ensure technology can support peak betting activity, live event operations and high-volume customer demand without compromise.
Strengthen Cybersecurity, Risk and Compliance
- Own the organisation’s technology risk and cybersecurity posture.
- Protect customer information, financial transactions, intellectual property and critical operational systems.
- Strengthen controls across identity and access management, vulnerability management, third-party risk, security monitoring and incident response.
- Ensure technology operations remain aligned to regulatory requirements, data-protection obligations and industry standards.
- Provide clear and credible reporting to EXCO and the Board on cyber risk, resilience, major technology initiatives and investment priorities.
Build a High-Performing Technology Function
- Lead, develop and inspire a high-performing technology leadership team across engineering, data, infrastructure, security, architecture, delivery and service management.
- Create a culture of accountability, innovation, customer focus and operational excellence.
- Build internal capability while leveraging strategic partners and managed service providers where they add scale or specialist expertise.
- Improve leadership depth, succession planning and technology talent retention.
- Lead effectively in a remote environment, ensuring strong alignment, execution discipline and visible ownership across teams.
What We Are Looking For
You will be an experienced technology executive with the credibility to operate at CEO, EXCO and Board level, while still being close enough to the technology to challenge assumptions, solve problems and drive meaningful change.
You are likely to bring:
- At least 15 years’ progressive technology experience, including senior executive or enterprise technology leadership exposure.
- Experience leading technology in a high-volume, highly regulated, transactional or customer-facing environment.
- Strong exposure to digital transformation, cloud adoption, enterprise modernisation, cybersecurity and large-scale technology delivery.
- Proven experience managing complex technology estates, vendor ecosystems, technology budgets and investment portfolios.
- Deep understanding of software engineering, cloud infrastructure, architecture, data platforms, integration, cybersecurity and service management.
- A strong commercial mindset, with the ability to balance innovation, risk, customer expectations and financial discipline.
- Experience within betting, gaming, fintech, payments, media, telecommunications, e-commerce, live events or similar digital industries. iGaming or sports betting experience will be highly advantageous.
- The ability to communicate clearly and credibly with technical teams, senior executives, regulators, suppliers and Board stakeholders.
The Leadership Profile
The successful candidate will be:
- Commercially minded and strategically sharp.
- Comfortable operating in high-pressure, business-critical environments.
- Decisive, pragmatic and outcome-driven.
- Equally capable of managing legacy complexity and building a modern technology future.
- An influential executive with strong stakeholder management capability.
- Passionate about customer experience, operational reliability and technology-enabled growth.
- Able to challenge the status quo without creating unnecessary theatre. Good technology leadership does not need smoke machines.
What Success Looks Like
Within the first 6 to 12 months, you will have:
- Established a clear, Board-supported technology and digital strategy.
- Created a prioritised modernisation roadmap with measurable commercial and operational outcomes.
- Improved resilience, security and performance across critical systems.
- Strengthened technology governance, delivery discipline and supplier accountability.
- Advanced the organisation’s digital customer experience and data capability.
- Built a capable, accountable and high-performing technology leadership team.
- Positioned technology as a trusted strategic partner to the CEO, EXCO and wider business.
This is a rare opportunity to shape the technology future of a major South African business operating in one of the country’s most dynamic, competitive and rapidly evolving industries.
Apply now by sending your CV to contact@initiateinternational.com for this Chief Technology Officer role. If you wish to view additional Gaming, Betting, & Gambling jobs, please click through to our job section.
