Dr Cordell Robinson, CEO of Brownstone Consulting Firm.
The rapid convergence of AI, evolving regulation, cyber risk, data management, digital sovereignty and sustainability is redefining enterprise governance. This is according to ITWeb, which, together with industry players, will host the ITWeb Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC) 2026 event on 12 November.
The event takes place at The Forum, Bryanston, and is targeted at business leaders, board members, regulators, policymakers, CIOs, CISOs, chief risk officers, compliance executives and governance professionals.
The agenda includes presentations from local and international speakers, including Dr Cordell Robinson, CEO of Brownstone Consulting Firm (BCF); Sizwe Snail ka Mtuze, professor of cyber law at Nelson Mandela University and MD at Snail Attorneys; and Dumisani Gumbi, group information officer and head of data privacy at Sanlam Group.
Dr Robinson is scheduled to deliver the opening keynote address, explaining why AI without governance is the next cyber security crisis: a threat vector hiding in plain sight, expanding faster than most institutions' policies, oversight structures or regulatory frameworks can keep pace with.
Drawing on BCF's work advising government, healthcare and financial services clients across US and African markets, Dr Robinson will argue that AI governance is not a compliance afterthought, but core infrastructure security.
The presentation will delve into several pertinent issues, including shadow AI, AI governance, AI systems as attack surfaces, and governance as a competitive advantage rather than a constraint.
A panel discussion, to be led by Natalie Aphane, IT compliance officer at Discovery, will focus on preparing organisations for increasing regulatory convergence across technology, privacy and cyber security.
The event features two tracks: one covering governance, risk and trust, and the other emerging technologies, digital ecosystems and ESG.
Ntando Sibanda, senior conference producer at ITWeb, said governance, risk and compliance is critical by default, but even more so with the advent of AI and agentic AI in business operations.
“Organisations have to adapt to a broader cyber threat landscape and an AI-driven marketplace. Business leaders must balance the need for digital transformation of existing systems with available resources, higher operational risk, an ever-present demand for skills and tight budgets. At the same time, governance and compliance has to be front-of-mind across all facets of business operation. This is why the GRC event is of critical importance,” said Sibanda.