Hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa, Shoaib Laher is a technology executive, adviser, and speaker with more than 25 years of experience helping organisations use technology to drive growth, improve efficiency, and strengthen competitive advantage. He currently serves as IT Director at Schillings International LLP, a globally recognised privacy, reputation management, and crisis response law firm, where he leads technology strategy, cybersecurity, data governance, artificial intelligence adoption, and digital transformation initiatives.
Throughout his career, Shoaib has worked across the legal, financial services, media, healthcare, and technology sectors, combining deep technical expertise with commercial leadership. Before moving into executive technology leadership, he spent several years working across Sub-Saharan Africa, including living and working in Nigeria during the early development of the country’s GSM telecommunications network. During this period, he worked closely with telecommunications providers, enterprise organisations, and Cisco channel partners across East and West Africa, helping deliver some of the region’s early large-scale networking and communications projects.
Prior to joining Schillings, Shoaib served as Group Head of Technology at Dennis Publishing and held several senior leadership positions at Conosco, where he helped scale the business from a start-up into a multimillion-pound technology consultancy. He has also advised several New York-based managed service providers, supporting leadership teams on business performance, operational maturity, profitability, and strategic growth.
Known for translating complex technical concepts into practical business outcomes, Shoaib is a passionate advocate for responsible AI adoption, cybersecurity, technology leadership, and building high-performing teams. A regular panellist and keynote speaker, he brings a pragmatic, real-world perspective shaped by leadership experience spanning start-ups, multinational enterprises, and emerging markets across Africa, Europe, and North America.