JOHANNESBURG — T-Systems South Africa MD Gert Schoonbee has joined the speaker lineup for the 2017 African In2 Innovation Summit, taking place in Johannesburg on 29 March.

Schoonbee, who joined the German IT services giant in 2012, will feature on a panel that explores why gender equity is fast becoming a business imperative in Africa. He will be joined by Sasol SVP Wrenelle Stander; Barloworld executive director Samantha Swanepoel; Business Engage Association CEO Colleen Larsen; and, Burson-Marsteller Africa CEO Robyn de Villiers.

The heavyweight lineup also includes Mail & Guardian editor-in-chief Khadija Patel; Microsoft Middle East & Africa communications head Delia Sieff, Destiny deputy editor Sheena Adams and FlySafair VP Kirby Gordon, along with Weber Shandwick EMEA and Asia-Pacific chairman Tim Sutton.

Patel, who co-founded the Daily Vox digital platform, became Mail & Guardian editor-in-chief last year. She will feature alongside Adams on a panel that explores how technology is disrupting media in South Africa and beyond.

Microsoft's Sieff and FlySafair's Gordon, meanwhile, will investigate how corporates are reshaping their crisis communications strategies in the digital era.

They are joined by several agency heads, including Ogilvy PR national MD Joanna Oosthuizen, WE Communications GM James Wilson, and Engage Jo Public managing partner Keri-Ann Stanton.

The conference, which is taking place at The Maslow Hotel, will explore how communications and marketing are evolving in South Africa and the wider African region. The conference is being backed by seven partner firms: Weber Shandwick, Atmosphere, Burson-Marsteller, FleishmanHillard, Engage Joe Public, Magna Carta and Ogilvy PR.

Thanks to these partners, and as a signal of our long-term commitment to the market, the discounted registration offer is currently priced at US$25 (ZAR330), before rising to US$50 once discounted tickets sell out.