IT Leadership Series: Loot.co.za CTO Kirk Williams

Loot.co.za chief technology officer Kirk Williams describes himself as a “hands-on and energertic” technology leader. He has 15 years’ experience in the industry and is passionate about coding, mentorship and, well, tech.

“I specialise in working with lean teams by helping them advance all aspects of their functions, workflows and architectures,” he says.

We posed a few questions to Williams.

What does your company do?

Loot.co.za is a leading South African online store.

What do you see as IT leaders’ top priorities in 2023?

1. Create a relevant environment. Times and technologies are changing so fast that it’s hard to keep up. Depending on the requirements, it will become more and more challenging to engage with top talent while your environment revolves around legacy technologies and outdated approaches to company culture.
2. Collaboration and communication. While we’re still adjusting to fully remote, hybrid or office work environments, we need to rethink the way we engage between teams and how we communicate efficiently.
3. Security and brand protection. Cybersecurity needs to be front and centre in all aspects of the business and should be treated as more than just a technology problem. As businesses, their technologies and then complexities scale, so does the attack surface and threat landscape.

What do you most admire in business and why?

I would have to say people. The mind is an amazing thing and just dealing with diversity, unique attributes and mindsets of the people I work with and the way they think and approach our day-to-day challenges is really captivating.

How do you attract and retain talent?

This is an extremely difficult question to answer as there are so many factors involved with attracting and retaining the talented people I work with. I think a large portion of it is setting the right expectations and really honouring that. Engage, communicate and appreciate your staff. Personally, I’ve found that transparency, acknowledgement and ownership make for an amazing cohesive culture.

If you could go back and give your 18-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Work hard, play hard and spend every possible cent that you can on bitcoin between 2009 and 2016.

What’s your favourite productivity hack?

Time “box tasks” that can generally send you down a rabbit hole.

What occupation (other than your own) would you like to try?

I’ve always wanted to be a chef.

Where do you see the technology industry heading in the next three to five years?

Machine learning, artificial intelligence and augmented reality are going to have bigger roles soon.

What is one book you’d recommend to our audience and why?

The Art of Leadership: Small Things, Done Well by Michael Lopp. “Consistency is key” is a phrase that applies to many things in life. This book will give you an idea of how consistency will turn you into a better leader while earning the respect of those in your team.