SA Market Surveillance Conference 2025

Alex is employed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) (previously Financial Services Board) as Departmental Head: Market Abuse – Enforcement Division and was previously the Investigations Team Leader for the DMA (Directorate of Market Abuse and its predecessor, the Insider Trading Directorate). The Market Abuse Department is responsible for combating insider trading, prohibited trading practices (price manipulation) and the publication of false or misleading statements.

With a career in stockbroking spanning over 39 years, Erica has been immersed in various pivotal roles, contributing significantly to the financial market's evolution in South Africa. Her expertise spans across financial markets included trading and risk and compliance, AML, pre and post trade, as well as clearing and settlement processes. In 2009, She co-founded Navigare Securities Pty Ltd, where she serves as Managing Director and Stockbroker in Control. As a long-standing member and leader within SAIS, she has been dedicated to advocating for the profession and enhancing market liquidity and integrity. Her focus has been on fostering growth and sustainability in financial markets while ensuring effective compliance and risk mitigation. 
 

Happy Shihau is a lawyer by training and holds a LLB Degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently the Head of Compliance for Investec’s Corporate and Institutional Banking. Happy has more than a decade of experience in the financial sector and has held various positions within the sector with regulatory authorities such as the Financial Services Board (which is the now Financial Sector Conduct Authority),the Prudential Authority and at other financial institutions, including Absa Capital. In Happy’s previous life she was a Civil and Criminal Litigation attorney at Fluxmans Attorneys and practiced for several years. Her love for the regulatory environment coupled with her passion for the financial markets industry has propelled her to be involved in industry initiatives such at the South African Markets Surveillance Conference, which is hosted and lead by Investec Bank. Happy wishes to leave a legacy behind of a financial services industry that is better than the one she found and her mantra in life is to treat people with kindness.

Nishlan is responsible for finance at Investec, with shareholders, regulators, leadership and the Board as his key stakeholders. Over the course of his career at Investec, he says the highlight of his time with the business is the fact that he has had the privilege of working with inspiring individuals and that he is now part of the next generation leadership team. He is passionate about inspiring people to achieve and excel in an environment that enables freedom of thought and the ability to execute through strong evaluation, debate and support.

Themba joined the Investec Compliance team from the JSE five years ago to set up the Market surveillance function at Investec Corporate & Institutional Banking (ICIB). He is currently the Head of Compliance in Investment Banking and is the Senior Compliance and Surveillance Analyst at ICIB. He firmly believes that safeguarding the South African Financial Market against Market Abuse and anticompetitive practices is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders. With a commitment to staying ahead on a global stage, Themba is dedicated to ensuring a robust and compliant South African Financial market that can attract investments and create opportunities to address the social challenges in South Africa.

Thulani Kunene is the Group Head of Compliance for Investec Ltd. He has led Compliance functions for different organisations across various industries. He also worked in different capacities in the Competition Commission and Competition Tribunal of South Africa in his early career.

Tony Sio is Head of Regulatory Strategy and Innovation at Nasdaq’s Fintech division. Nasdaq provides surveillance and regulatory tools for regulators, venues, banks, and market participants globally. Tony ensures its service offerings are ahead of both regulatory and technology trends. The role includes responsibility for the Nasdaq Market Surveillance (SMARTS) solution which is used by over 50 marketplaces and 17 regulators globally. His team uses the latest in technology to provide surveillance and regulatory solutions for all tradeable products in the world’s largest markets.

Astrid Ludin has been a Deputy Commissioner at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa since June 2021. Her responsibilities include oversight of the financial market and retirement fund supervision. She has more than 25 years of experience in public policy and regulation. She led significant law reforms, including company reform, consumer protection and credit legislation in South Africa between 2002 and 2007. As Deputy Director-General at the DTIC, she was responsible for competition, company, intellectual property, consumer protection, credit, gambling, lotteries, and liquor legislation. She exercised oversight over the associated regulatory agencies.

Astrid spent three years at the Competition Commission (1999 to 2002), was responsible for stakeholder relations, communications, education and voluntary compliance, and was involved in several significant mergers and investigations. She served as the first Commissioner of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) between 2011 and 2015, overseeing the office’s modernisation and its transformation into a regulatory institution.

In various consulting capacities, Astrid has provided research and policy advice to the DTIC, the National Treasury, the Prudential Authority, Strate, a range of South African financial services firms, and financial sector regulators in Africa. Her areas of expertise include consumer protection, market conduct and financial market regulation, financial inclusion, financial education and innovation.

Kgomotso Chacha is a regulatory compliance specialist with over 12 years’ experience in service of leading local and international financial services organisations. She is well versed with local and international compliance risk management standards with expertise spanning across various speciality business areas with Corporate and Investment banking, including amongst others Global Markets, Investment Banking, Transactional Services and Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing . Kgomotso is a JSE compliance officer, a Certified Money Laundering Specialist, and a FAIS compliance officer. She holds BCom Law, LLB degrees, a Compliance Risk Management postgraduate diploma, Banking Law postgraduate certificate and various other postgraduate certificates.

Ian is a leader and subject-matter expert with over 20 years of experience in Surveillance. Currently, Ian is Head of Nasdaq Trade Surveillance Product Management at Nasdaq where he is responsible for overall product strategy and ensuring the needs of NTS customers are met effectively. Prior to Nasdaq, Ian worked for various global investment banks building, running, designing, optimizing, and in some cases decommissioning, surveillance systems.

Experience in the Industry: More than 10 years’ experience in the Equities and markets industry across South Africa and Africa Regions. Experience obtained in finance, product development, risk and regulatory risk management, strategy, social impact investing and operations.

Odette is a Senior Manager in the Market Integrity Division within the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) helping the Division on supervisory, compliance, policy and regulatory aspects with regards to financial benchmarks, Market Infrastructures and Over-the-Counter Derivative Providers. Odette is heavily involved in the licencing of Market Infrastructures, process of drafting Conduct Standards and Joint Standards with a focus on financial markets, continuous engagements with the Prudential Authority and industry stakeholder engagement. Odette has been with the FSCA for 10 years and prior to joining the FSCA, Odette held a legal officer position at Retirement Fund Solutions (Pty) Ltd, a section 13B Retirement Fund Administrator and Spoor & Fisher Attorneys where she worked with different trademark applications.

Matt Smith is the co-founder and CEO of SteelEye, the pioneering firm behind the first truly integrated surveillance solution for the financial markets. With over 20 years of experience in technology and management across North America, Europe, and Asia, Matt has consistently led innovation in the regulatory and compliance space.

Before founding his current company, Matt held a senior product management role focused on regulatory technology, trading systems, and analytics platforms. Prior to that, he served as Chief Information Officer at a global commodity trading firm, where he was responsible for regulatory technology, big data deployment, analytics, and the implementation and operation of trading and risk management systems.

Over the course of his career, Matt has delivered major development initiatives and IT infrastructures, including derivative and physical trading systems, ERP solutions, risk systems, finance platforms, and compliance solutions.

Sam Taylor has over 14 years of experience in financial markets, specialising in communications and trade surveillance within the regulatory landscape. As Global Head of Pre-Sales at SteelEye, Sam works closely with buy- and sell-side firms across all asset classes, helping them navigate complex compliance requirements and implement effective surveillance solutions.
With deep expertise in MiFID II, MAR, data analysis, and market data products, Sam combines technical acumen with strong interpersonal and presentation skills. His consultative approach is rooted in building trusted relationships, enabling him to gain a detailed understanding of client workflows and deliver tailored, value-driven solutions.

Dan Klein is Head of EMEA Sales at SteelEye, where he helps financial firms navigate the complexities of modern regulatory compliance. With deep insight into evolving frameworks such as MiFID II and GDPR, Dan understands the challenges firms face in managing growing data volumes and a proliferation of communication channels.

He is passionate about turning compliance from a cost centre into a competitive advantage - helping clients implement integrated, intelligent solutions that streamline workflows and unlock value across the business. In today’s fast-moving regulatory landscape, Dan advocates for a dynamic, real-time approach to compliance that supports both operational efficiency and strategic growth.