IT Consultant to AI Governance Leader: Kobus Dippenaar’s Journey

For more than 20 years, Kobus Dippenaar built a career in Information Technology roles across New Zealand. He worked as a management consultant and contractor, holding positions including Program Director, Program Manager, Project Manager and Senior Line Manager. Throughout his career, he led teams delivering large-scale enterprise solutions, including ERP systems, Import and Export Manifest processing, and other high-profile public-facing digital solutions spanning people, process, technology, data and strategy.

Kobus already had direct experience with artificial intelligence, including predictive analytics implementations, contributing to the foundations of the NZ Algorithm Charter, and leading a Machine Learning Program as a Program Manager. Wanting to formalise and deepen this experience, he enrolled in the Institute of Data’s Data Science & AI Program, delivered in partnership with the University of Canterbury’s Tuihono UC Online.

Today, Kobus works with 3Plus Consulting Limited in Auckland, where he leads client engagements, has created a new AI governance product for the firm, and is preparing to facilitate an expert panel on AI innovation and governance for Auckland business leaders.

The Journey to Data Science & AI

Kobus’s motivation for pursuing formal training was clear: he wanted to be “formally trained and get hands-on experience of not only the contemporary AI models, but also the how of using them.”

He notes that AI adoption is not new and extends far beyond Generative AI and LLMs. In his view, implementing digital change and evolving operating models depends on understanding where AI can deliver the greatest benefit.

He also points to the unprecedented pace of change in AI products, models and agentic AI. In his words, this pace “can unlock creativity and speed. However, there is a risk that we don’t pay enough attention to security, governance and vendor lock-in threats.”

This observation connects directly to how he now applies his prior governance and assurance training and experience with confidence in his current AI-related projects and engagements.

Challenges in the Transition

Rather than framing his transition as a leap into an entirely new field, Kobus describes the shift as “more of a perspective adjustment”—a natural extension of his existing experience.

In his current role, Kobus leads engagements that deliver business cases to clients in a third of the time and at 25% of the cost, citing this as one example of how his broader perspective has changed the way he approaches his work.

Kobus also faced practical challenges during his job search. He was between contracts when his course finished, and he relocated from Wellington to Auckland during the year of his study. With face-to-face networking not always possible, he connected with contacts in his LinkedIn network for online catch-ups instead.

He was also navigating a job market where organisations globally were reducing IT staff at a time of significant AI hype.

To improve his chances, Kobus applied for roles combining project management and business analysis, identifying these as part of his transferable skill set. He was also willing to start in a lower-ranked role and noted this in his cover letter.

The Institute of Data’s Data Science & AI Program

Kobus completed the Data Science & AI Program through the Institute of Data, delivered in partnership with the University of Canterbury’s Tuihono UC Online.

With existing qualifications in formal governance training and certification, several other ICT and business-related certifications, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management, Kobus saw clear value in the program. As he explains, “The Data Science and AI certification gave me the confidence to look at possibilities and not just wishful thinking.”

For Kobus, the qualification helped turn broad ideas about AI into practical possibilities for businesses and organisations. That shift is reflected directly in his current work.

He put his Data Science and AI training into practice by combining it with his existing governance and consulting expertise to create a new product and service for 3Plus Consulting: the AI Governance and Controls Assurance Framework.

Career Support: A Game-Changer

Among the resources available to him during his job search, Kobus singles out the support of Kate from the Institute of Data Job Outcomes Team, who worked with him to review his career history and resume.

He describes the experience as “a much-needed fresh perspective” that helped him recalibrate his professional profile.

As part of this process, Kobus updated his LinkedIn profile to highlight his AI-related experience. He says the update proved “invaluable” during his job search.

Landing the Role at 3Plus Consulting

Kobus’s route into his current role came through his professional network. One of his LinkedIn contacts, who saw that he was based in Auckland after his move, approached him about a role that had become available, and he applied.

During the interview process, Kobus asked directly about the organisation’s AI plans and how it used AI. He shared his own experience and the models he had helped create, which led to follow-up conversations.

At the time, he recalled feeling that he had perhaps been “a bit too assertive about the AI dimension of the role” that he wanted to understand better. However, after his application was successful, he was told that his recent AI training and knowledge had helped differentiate him from other applicants; a welcome confirmation that his investment in the program had paid off.

He started with the firm a few weeks later. Once in the role, the organisation was trialling a RAG platform, and Kobus asked to be involved. He went on to write LinkedIn articles for the company featuring AI use cases and helped develop proposals for AI pilot initiatives.

At 3Plus Consulting Limited in Auckland, Kobus’s responsibilities now include leading engagements that deliver business cases to client boards using the 3PAI Business Case platform, redesigning operating models with AI enablement where appropriate, and providing strategic business analysis.

He is also the creator of the firm’s AI Governance Assurance and Controls service and product. In addition, he leads and coaches team members on engagements, supports business development in a pre-sales capacity, and provides subject matter expertise to the Wellington office where AI, business and strategy overlap.

Looking ahead, Kobus will facilitate an expert panel as part of an executive breakfast meeting for business leaders and decision-makers in Auckland. The event’s theme centres on lessons and thought leadership connecting AI innovation, governance and guardrails.

His perspective reflects the changing conversation around AI: “Now that the AI hype has settled down, understanding has moved beyond Generative AI, and business leaders are asking what their investment in time and money has delivered.”

He also points to the need to balance increasingly sophisticated cyber security threats with the ambition to use AI safely within business operating models.

The Role of Transferable Skills

When asked whether additional certifications helped him land his current role, Kobus was direct: “None were required for this particular job.”

What mattered was the combination of his more than 20 years of program, project and governance experience with his newly formalised Data Science & AI knowledge. Rather than starting again in a new field, he was able to build on the skills and experience he had already developed throughout his career.

His governance and assurance background has also become a valuable asset in his AI-focused work, allowing him to approach AI not only from a technology perspective but also through the lens of risk, controls and business outcomes.

Advice for Aspiring Career Changers

Kobus’s advice draws directly on his own experience as an established professional making this shift:

• Expect a good kind of challenge. He notes that “you will be challenged in a good way, the information and practical labs are useful, but at times may test you.”
• Give yourself time to see the path ahead. In his words, “when the overwhelm settles, you will be able to see where you want to go next.”
• Stay open and lean on your network. He suggests: “be open-minded, have conversations with others and reach out to your network.”
• Use your experience as a strength. As he puts it: “If you are an experienced person, use your training, skills and experience as strengths. Not everyone needs to start from scratch.” He adds that previous industry and professional experience remains part of the value a career changer brings to a new field.

He closes his advice with a simple, direct message: “Start by starting!”

Conclusion

Kobus Dippenaar’s journey from decades of IT program and project leadership to creating a new AI governance product at 3Plus Consulting shows how industry-aligned training can sharpen and extend an already substantial career, rather than replace it.

Through the Institute of Data’s Data Science & AI Program, delivered with the University of Canterbury’s Tuihono UC Online, Kobus gained the hands-on experience and practical skills to move from “wishful thinking” to real, deliverable AI capability for the organisations he works with.

His story is a reminder that career transformation doesn’t always mean starting over. For experienced professionals considering a similar shift into data, AI or related tech fields, Kobus’s own words offer a fitting starting point: start by starting.