Justin Zane De Lange
Melville,South Africa
Summary
Senior IT Operations Executive with extensive experience leading mission‑critical technology operations within a highly regulated financial services environment. Currently serving as IT Operations Head for the FNB Chief Risk Office, with end‑to‑end accountability for platform stability, operational resilience, disaster recovery, and service governance across core risk, compliance, and regulatory technology estates.
Recognised for driving operational excellence and resilience through strong ITIL‑aligned service management, effective major incident leadership, and the design and execution of audit‑ready IT controls aligned to enterprise risk and regulatory standards. Proven ability to translate complex technical and operational challenges into clear business and risk outcomes for senior stakeholders.
Experienced contributor to executive and governance forums, including Management Committees (MANCO), Executive Committees (EXCO), Steering and Risk Committees (SRC), and IT Architecture Boards (ITAB), providing strategic input on technology stability, risk mitigation, operational readiness, and modernisation initiatives.
Trusted leader known for a calm, structured leadership style, a strong sense of accountability, and a passion for building high‑performing operational teams that deliver reliable, secure, and resilient technology services in support of critical business and regulatory objectives.
Overview
28
28
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work history
IT Operations Head
FNB Chief Risk Office
Johannesburg, Gauteng
2024.11 - 2026.03
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight for end‑to‑end IT Operations supporting FNB Chief Risk Office, ensuring platform stability, availability, and operational resilience across business‑critical risk and compliance systems.
- Accountable for production support, incident, problem, and change management in alignment with ITIL practices, ensuring rapid service restoration, root‑cause remediation, and continual service improvement.
- Own and govern Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BCP) planning, execution, and annual testing for CROIT, ensuring compliance with internal risk standards and regulatory expectations.
- Lead operational readiness and risk mitigation for regulatory and compliance platforms (including sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, and risk decisioning systems), ensuring consistent availability and audit‑ready controls.
- Act as primary IT Operations interface to Risk, Audit, Compliance, and Executive stakeholders, translating technical issues into clear business and risk impacts with actionable remediation plans.
- Drive operational governance, including SLA/OLA management, service performance reporting, control attestations, and contribution to risk committees, audits, and regulatory reviews.
- Lead, mentor, and performance‑manage multi‑disciplinary operational teams (DevOps, Production Support, Infrastructure, Service Delivery Management and Database services), fostering a culture of accountability, excellence, and continuous improvement.
- Oversee major incident (war‑room) management, ensuring structured response, effective stakeholder communication, executive updates, and post‑incident corrective actions.
- Govern change execution and release readiness for high‑risk systems, including participation in CAB/ECAB processes, enforcement of change controls, and management of freeze periods during critical business cycles.
- Partner with Architecture, Engineering, and Security teams to support technology modernisation initiatives, platform upgrades, and resilience improvements while maintaining operational stability.
- Ensure audit‑ready documentation and evidence for operational controls, DR exercises, incident management, and service governance, supporting internal and external audits.
- Manage operational risk proactively by identifying systemic weaknesses, driving remediation plans, and embedding preventative controls to reduce repeat incidents and service degradation.
IT Operations Head
MotoVantage (First Rand Group)
2021.03 - 2024.10
- Budget Goals - Set specific, measurable, achievable and relevant objectives that align with the overall business strategy, focusing on areas like cost optimization, efficiency improvements, technology upgrades, and security enhancements, while also considering current IT infrastructure and resource limitations.
- Corporate Governance according IT Governance Models - Framework of policies and practices used to ensure that an organization's IT strategy aligns with its overall business goals, managing risks associated with technology, and maximizing the value of IT investments, all while adhering to ethical and legal standards.
- Develop and Achieve Team Efficiencies and Innovations IT Operations - Focus on conducting thorough process audits, embracing automation through technology, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, empowering employees to contribute ideas, leveraging data analytics, and aligning IT initiatives with business goals by implementing strategies like streamlined workflows, cross-functional collaboration, skill development, and regular performance reviews to identify and address areas for optimization.
- Innovation Culture to Increase Organizational Capacity – Create a workplace environment that actively encourages employees to generate, share, and implement new ideas, fostering creativity and experimentation.
- IT Business and Partnership Management - The practice of strategically aligning IT initiatives with a company's overall business goals by fostering collaborative relationships with various internal and external partners, ensuring technology solutions effectively address business needs and drive value across the organization.
- IT Infrastructure Component Lifecycle Management - Managing the IT infrastructure and software throughout its lifecycle. This includes planning, implementing, and decommissioning IT assets.
- IT Infrastructure Operations - Management and maintenance of the hardware, software, and networking components that underpin a company's IT infrastructure.
- IT Service Culture - Providing IT services that prioritize customer experience and satisfaction.
- People Management - Managing the IT employees to improve productivity and performance.
IT Operations & Infrastructure Manager
MotoVantage (First Rand Group)
2019.03 - 2021.02
- Manage and support the Dev-Ops Team.
- Manage and support the Infrastructure Team.
- Manage and support the FNB Desktop Team.
- Manage and support the Oracle Database Team.
- Manage relationship between MotoVantage and FNB Shared IT Services Team.
- Manage relationships and contract negotiations with various vendors.
- Work closely with Information and Security Officers to identify and remediate risks.
- Monitoring and general health of all systems using Dynatrace monitoring application.
- System Performance Reporting.
- Infrastructure Incident management and reporting.
Dev-Ops Engineer
FNB Premium Banking
2016.01 - 2019.03
- Atlassian Administrator.
- Automation Administrator.
- Windows 2012/2016 & Red Hat 7 Linux Administration.
- Provisioning of new VM's with FNB Data Centre for new or existing systems.
- Setting up and preparing VM's throughout all 5 environments for various systems.
- Monitoring and general health of all systems using Nagios and Dynatrace monitoring tools.
- Deploying new code to production systems.
- Managing and applying for for new firewall rules.
- Apple Technical Specialist
Application Support Analyst
FNB Premium Banking
2015.03 - 2015.12
- Production support specialist (Iress Investment Management)
- Solutions specialist
- Financial Advice 3rd party application support (Sanlam SNET, Old Mutual Front Office and Momentum Quota)
- IBM AS400 support
- IBM Cognos setup and support
- Technical support (desktop, laptop and iPad)
- AD administration (INB Domain)
- 3G and VPN support
Technical Specialist
FNB Brokers
2012.04 - 2015.02
- Monitor branch networks
- Linux administration
- Windows 2008 Active Directory administration
- Windows 2008 server support
- Setup and maintained a MS SharePoint 2010 site for FNB Life
- Branch technical support
- Mobile device management
- Desktop and printer support
- Backup to System Administrator (Server monitoring, server support and sending of daily ACB's
- Team Leader to Desktop Technicians
Network Administrator
FNB Brokers
2007.12 - 2012.03
- Administered and maintained Linux domain.
- AD User administration.
- IBM ISeries user administration.
- LAN and WAN support and monitoring.
- VPN support and monitoring.
- Windows Server 2003 Administration
- User domain account administration.
- Maintain and create shares on the domain
- Firewall user administration
- Mail marshal administration
- User administration for IBM Domino Mail Server
- Voice recording administration
Desktop Support Engineer
FNB Brokers
2005.05 - 2007.11
- Support and installations
- Printer and scanner setup and support
- IBM ISeries printing support
- Network support
- Offered support to 37 branches in South Africa and Namibia
Customer Engineer
IT Maintenance
2001.08 - 2005.04
- Computer, printer and server repairs and upgrades.
- New hardware and software installations.
- IBM ISeries and Linux support.
- Networking - installation, fault finding and maintenance.
- Desktop support.
- Customer relations(notable customers included Auto & General, FNB Brokers, North West Bus Services.
Customer Engineer
Ankerdata
1998.05 - 2001.07
- Cash register repairs.
- Cash register installations.
- Cash register programming.
- Cash register sales.
- Computerized point of sale system software and hardware installations.
- Computer and peripheral repairs.
- Customer relations (notable customers included Shoprite Checkers, Spar Stores and CNA.
Education
Higher Certificate - Certificate in Business Management
College SA
Johannesburg, South Africa2014
Skills
- Technical collaboration
- Knowledge of DevOps tools
- IT governance
- Infrastructure architecture
- Strategic it planning
- Disaster recovery planning/Business continuity planning
- Operational efficiency
- System monitoring
- DevOps practices
- Customer Service
- Team Leadership
Accomplishments
- 2011 - Moved FNB Brokers from a Linux domain to a Windows 2008 domain to 37 branches in South Africa and Namibia.
- 2013 - FNB Risk and Advisory new desktop and laptop rollout to 437 financial advisors.
- 2015 - Domain migration for FNB Financial Advisory from INB to FNBJNB domain.
- 2016 - Setup and configured Atlassian Suite for FNB Premium Banking on a Linux infrastructure.
- 2016 - Implementation of new Policy Administration System for FNB Financial Advisory
- 2018 - Led a MacBook Pro and Ipad Pro rollout project for FNB Premium Banking to personal bankers and IT staff.
- 2019 - Architected new Policy Administration System for MotoVantage to greatly improve stability, performance and offer higher availability.
- 2023 - 99.96% Uptime on all MotoVantage Application for 2023
- Consistently a high performer within FNB. 2024 performance rating of "Exceeds Expectations"
IT Experience
More than 20 years, Advanced
IT Management Experience
6 years, Advanced
IT Operations Experience
9 years, Advanced
Personal Details
Nationality - South African
ID Number - 7903265076081
Drivers License - Yes
Certification
Apple Certified Support Professional
A+ Service Technician
Deploying Windows Server
IBM ISeries System Operator
Programming Visual Basic 6
Red Hat System Administration 1
Red Hat System Administration 2
New Managers Development Programme
Linux Administration 101
Visual Basic
References
- Bessy Mahopo - Chief Information Officer (CIB) - Standard Bank South Africa - +27 83 337 0859
- Dirk Kotze - Information Security Officer (FNB Retail) - FNB - +27 83 280 8383
- Innocent Gumede - Chief Information Officer (FNB CPB) - FNB - +27 73 103 9308
- Paul Hazelton - Chief Information Officer (FNB CRO) - FNB - +27 61 500 4060
Languages
English
Proficient (C2)
Affiliations
- Squash, History, IOT and Film
Timeline
IT Operations Head
FNB Chief Risk Office
2024.11 - 2026.03
IT Operations Head
MotoVantage (First Rand Group)
2021.03 - 2024.10
IT Operations & Infrastructure Manager
MotoVantage (First Rand Group)
2019.03 - 2021.02
Dev-Ops Engineer
FNB Premium Banking
2016.01 - 2019.03
Application Support Analyst
FNB Premium Banking
2015.03 - 2015.12
Technical Specialist
FNB Brokers
2012.04 - 2015.02
Network Administrator
FNB Brokers
2007.12 - 2012.03
Desktop Support Engineer
FNB Brokers
2005.05 - 2007.11
Customer Engineer
IT Maintenance
2001.08 - 2005.04
Customer Engineer
Ankerdata
1998.05 - 2001.07
Higher Certificate - Certificate in Business Management
College SA