Meet the Team
Bernard Liebenberg
CEO / Network Administrator / Team Leader 👨💼🧠🔧
Born in Kempton Park and raised in Secunda since the early ’80s (with pit stops in East London and Sasolburg), Bernard is the steady, dependable force behind TOI Technology. His journey began when Leon Greeff and Hesti Viljoen gave him the opportunity to pursue Network Administration at Damelin. From there, small businesses like Mouton Makelaars trusted his early work — and from that humble R500-per-month side hustle, a full-fledged company began to grow 💼📈.
As Bernard puts it: “God leads where we don’t always plan on going.” 🙏
His favorite part of the job? That moment when a client suddenly realizes: “Wait… everything’s working!” — the network’s up, the systems are stable, and they can finally get their work done 🖥️⚡. That quiet success? That’s the good stuff.
While Bernard wears the CEO title, his team mostly knows him as “cute and cuddly” 🧸 (his words… but everyone suspiciously agrees). If there’s a screw involved, you can bet he’ll drop it — especially if it needs to go in at a weird angle 🔩😅. He’s the only guy who can rebuild a network… and lose a screw in the same five minutes.
One of his guiding mottos:
“We are, as Christians, standing by the Grace of God. This is a position of strength.”
But if you hear “Ek is nie kwaad nie, net teleurgesteld” — someone definitely did something very unwise with the cables.
Jaco Grobbelaar
IT Technition / Director
Born in Trichardt and raised in Secunda, Jaco’s life was almost destined for chef whites and Michelin stars 🍽️👨🍳. But when the culinary path took a detour, he dove headfirst into retail 🛒, mastering the art of managing departments (and possibly the art of tolerating difficult customers).
Then came that fateful phone call in 2012 📞: Bernard asking, “Hey, want to try IT?” — despite Jaco’s entire résumé reading “food, glorious food.”
Fast-forward to 2025: he’s not only a director and part-owner of TOI Technology 💼 but also a passionate IT professional who absolutely loves learning new skills — especially writing prankware 😏💻 (because what’s IT without a little mischief?).
Jaco starts every day with his “famous zero calorie breakfast” ☕🚬 — a strong cup of coffee and his trusty pipe — before diving headlong into whatever tech challenge awaits.
Outside of work, Jaco is a proud comic book nerd 📚🦸♂️, trading card collector 🃏, gamer 🎮, and bassist 🎸 — playing for his church and holding down grooves almost as long as he’s been solving IT crises. His trademark sarcastic encouragement (“I have full and complete trust in you… you can do this”) is now practically a company motto 🙃.
What would his co-workers say about him? That he’s loving, caring, emotional… definitely not passive-aggressive or sarcastic… and never exaggerates. Ever 😉.
Ilze Bennet
Accounts Tannie 🧾🐴
Hailing from Utrecht, Newcastle KZN, Ilze’s path to TOI Technology was as unexpected as her snack choices: she applied for a simple admin job and was promptly thrown into the deep end 💦 as the official Accounts Tannie — and she’s been keeping the books balanced (and the team in line) ever since.
Ilze’s favorite part of the job? Laughing with her coworkers 😄 and, of course, PANNEKOEKE Fridays 🥞 — a sacred institution at TOI.
When she’s not mastering ledgers and spreadsheets, you’ll probably find her outdoors 🎣🌿 with her husband and kids — a rare passion in a tech office where the sun is seen mostly as an overexposed display setting 🌞😎. Ilze’s quirky food preferences are legendary: she loves oranges with salt and pepper 🍊🧂, eats tomatoes like apples 🍅, and adores donkeys 🐴 (and doesn’t mind talking about them… a lot).
Her coworkers describe her as a “diamond in the rough” 💎 — she may not have started with deep accounting expertise, but she rose to the challenge and became a true cornerstone of the team. And when she says “Jy kan my bad as ek weet” (go ahead and correct her if she knows about it!), you know you’re in safe (and slightly mischievous) hands.
Henri Steinmann
Senior IT Technician / IT Warrior / Network Warlock ⚔️🖧🧙♂️
Originally from Kempton Park but raised in Secunda, Henri’s journey to TOI Technology was anything but ordinary. Once a welder and steelworker 🔧🔥 building gates for one of TOI’s clients, Henri boldly arrived for an interview boasting his “programming and hacking skills” 🖥️😎. Naturally, the team threw him straight into the deep end… only to discover that while the skills weren’t quite as polished as advertised, Henri picked them up at lightning speed, quickly becoming a powerhouse technician.
Granted, it took a few sessions of lying under his desk in the fetal position 🛋️😅 — but hey, greatness isn’t always graceful.
Henri thrives on finding solutions in the most epic, convoluted, and unnecessarily difficult way possible 🧠💡 — because why solve something simply when you can solve it like a wizard?
A proud anime geek 📺🍜, rumored Russian defector 🇷🇺👀, and outspoken proponent of the “Darth Jar-Jar” theory 🤡⚔️, Henri keeps the team entertained… and occasionally confused. He’s often spotted using homemade chopsticks not only to eat instant noodles 🍜 but also sandwiches 🥪 (because why not?), kneeling on a pillow next to his desk 🪑, or taking a catnap beneath it like some kind of IT monk. His latest quirk? Learning basic Russian… for reasons that remain unclear.
Henri’s favorite quote comes straight from Master Oogway 🐢:
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift — that’s why it’s called the present.”
His coworkers say he causes as many head-scratches as he solves problems — sometimes fixing issues that were never problems to begin with… but doing it with style.
Alicia-René Nell
Network Support Technician / Proud Bibliophile 📖
Born and raised in Secunda, Alicia’s early career was nearly headed toward wrangling children instead of networks… until she wisely decided, “No thanks” 🙅♀️ and accepted an offer at TOI Technology instead.
Now a core part of the team, Alicia’s favorite part of the job is talking and laughing with her coworkers 😂 — and of course, Pancake Fridays 🥞 (a sacred TOI tradition).
Alicia is a proud Harry Potter fan 🧙♀️⚡ and moonlights as a fanfiction author when she’s not troubleshooting networks — so don’t be surprised if your router suddenly finds itself in a romantic subplot.
Her coworkers say she’s known for saying “Okay” and “Sure”… but here’s the catch: Alicia has approximately 100 different ways of saying them, and her tone can convey anything from “Okay, I’ll help” ☺️ to “Sure, I’ll make you coffee” ☕… or “Okay, this is totally your problem and I don’t have time for it” 😏.
Christy Kilian
Receptionist / Talkative / Conversationist ☎️💬
Born and raised in Virginia, Free State — a real plaas dorp 🐄🌾 — Christy relocated to Secunda and figured, “What the heck, let’s apply at TOI Technology and just be ‘the funny one’ in the bunch.” After all, every team needs someone to keep spirits high, and Christy delivers in spades — even if she swears IT is for the brainy bunch and she’s “not that clever” (don’t believe her — we certainly don’t).
Her favorite part of the job? The daily challenges 🔧 — every day brings something new, and Christy loves solving problems (with a laugh and a few well-placed jokes).
Her quirks are legendary: peanut butter and cucumber is her go-to snack 🥒🥜, she reads voraciously 📚, stays up way too late watching crime videos 🔪🕵️♀️, and is a devoted Harry Potter fan 🧙♀️⚡ — though sadly “stuck with all these muggles” because her owl clearly got lost somewhere along the way 🦉.
Her motto? “Chippies vir almal” 🍟 — because chips and good vibes are always welcome.
Her coworkers tell the story best: Originally hired for her background in litigation and office admin, Christy arrived for her interview almost an hour early (overachiever vibes!) and quickly proved she was the perfect fit. Right from day one, she made the receptionist role her own, becoming a cornerstone of TOI’s emotional and human side 💛. She’s talented, exceptionally hard-working, always talkative, and sometimes makes her colleagues feel very old (she once needed “CD burning” explained — including why software like Nero Burning ROM even existed 🔥💿).
Together with Ilze and Alicia, she can cause giggles that ripple through the office — because sometimes what TOI Technology really needs is not just tech support… but a bit of Christy’s chaos and laughter too.
Christo van der Westhuizen
Junior IT Technician / Computer Wizzard 🧙♂️💻
Originally from Springs but raised in Secunda, Christo’s path to TOI Technology was… unconventional. In fact, legend has it he tripped over a computer cable, fell into the TOI office, and they just never let him leave 🤷♂️⚡ — so here he is.
Christo loves the challenge of fixing tricky problems 🛠️, finding creative solutions, and thriving in TOI’s unique office culture: just a bunch of geeks having fun and getting along 🤓🎉. But beware — when an easy problem refuses to be solved, it’s time to start pulling out hair… probably his own.
His quirky culinary habits are almost as famous as his tech skills: he dips fries into milkshake 🍟🥤 and pizza into Coke 🍕🥤 — a true innovator in both IT and snack culture.
Around the office, Christo is known for operating like a machine 🤖… although some days, that machine might feel like a microwave trying to run under a washing machine manual. His signature phrase? “Wonderlik” — because no matter what happens, it’s all just wonderful… right?
Clive Nyadongo
Cable Technician / Electronic Guru / General All-Round Fixit Guy 🔧🔌🐠
Originally from Zimbabwe 🇿🇼, Clive made his way to Bethal before settling in Secunda — and into the heart of TOI Technology. He first joined in December 2017 as a helper for the previous cable tech, but it didn’t take long for him to step up as the go-to guy for cables, fibre splicing, installations, odd jobs, and basically anything that needs fixing.
Clive’s favorite parts of the job? Working with cables 🔌, enjoying good coffee ☕, being outdoors 🌿 (a rarity in this team!), and — most importantly — sweets and cookies 🍬🍪. In fact, the only time Clive reliably appears in the office is when there are sweets around. He will happily leave tools, money 💸, and jobs unattended — but never sweets. Your sweets are never safe with Clive nearby.
He also learned one of life’s harder lessons at TOI: do not test for live electricity with your tongue 👅⚡ — especially not by licking a network cable connected to a 54V PoE switch. Sometimes, it just needs to hurt for the lesson to stick… and stick it did.
His coworkers say Clive is absolutely indispensable, capable of handling electronics, installations, and whatever else needs doing — all while dreaming of installing a fish tank in every corner 🐟😅.
Clive’s motto? “100 years guarantee” — because when he fixes something, it’s fixed for good… probably.
