Singing the praises of SA’s financial market ‘force of nature’

It is with deep sadness that we remember Professor Monica Singer CA(SA), who passed away on 16 November after a brave and long battle with cancer. Her life was one of great purpose, determination, and achievement. She was a true force of nature whose impact will be felt for many years to come. 

Her professional legacy is well known. Monica was the founding CEO of Strate, South Africa’s Central Securities Depository. In the late 1990s, when the country was still settling trades with paper and manual processes, she saw the risk, the inefficiency, and the fragility of that system and did something about it. In 1998, she built Strate from the ground up, and led the company for nearly 20 years. Monica drove the transformation of digitising clearing, settlement, and depository functions. This fundamentally modernised the South African financial market. Under her leadership, the country achieved international recognition and global top-tier rankings for the regulation of securities exchanges. What exists today as stable, neutral, trusted market infrastructure is, in many respects, the result of her vision and sheer force of will. In recognition of this work, Monica won the Jewish Achiever Business Achiever Award in the category “Unlisted Companies” in 2006, as well as the inaugural Europcar Women in Leadership Award. 

Her influence extended beyond South Africa’s borders. Through senior roles in AMEDA (Africa and Middle East Depositories Association); the World Forum of Central Securities Depositories; and multiple advisory bodies, Monica became a respected voice in the global conversation on financial market infrastructure. She had no hesitation in challenging poor processes, weak governance, or any hint of corruption. Her standards were high, and she expected people to live up to them. 

After leaving Strate in 2017 and fulfilling her dream of living in Cape Town, Monica shifted her energy to the next evolution of financial systems, as in blockchain technology. As South Africa lead for ConsenSys and later as a Professor of Practice in the School of Accounting at the University of Johannesburg, she committed herself to understanding and educating others about blockchain technology for the accounting and auditing profession. She saw its potential to redesign trust, simplify verification, and reduce intermediated risk. Even while battling cancer, she stayed fully engaged in conversations, teaching, advocating, and pushing the industry to think further ahead. 

But while her institutional achievements were significant, the personal impact she had on people was arguably more meaningful. Monica mentored widely and intensely. She pushed people hard because she genuinely believed in what they could become. Her support was never soft or vague. It was specific, demanding, and often life changing. She opened doors; insisted people study further; encouraged women to take up space in boardrooms and technical fields; and refused to accept self-imposed limitations. Many professionals today carry Monica’s influence in their work and outlook. 

Her personality was unmistakable. Monica was bold, outspoken, and relentless. She had little patience for excuses and even less for mediocrity. At the same time, she carried a deep spiritual curiosity with self-development being a particular interest for her. In her later years, she declared that her purpose was “to bring light in everything I do”. Her energy, drive, and sheer presence filled every room she entered, inspiring those around her to do better and be better. 

Her personal story is a reminder of what determination can achieve. Arriving in South Africa from Montevideo, Uruguay, in her early twenties with limited English, she completed her accounting articles by day and studied at night to qualify as a chartered accountant. She was a proud Jew with a deep love for Israel, and she supported Jewish communal life in meaningful ways, including funding the annual challah bake in Montevideo. 

Above all, Monica’s greatest pride was her family. She loved her two children deeply, and considered them her true legacy. No professional achievement could compare to the joy and fulfilment she found in watching them grow into grounded, caring adults. 

Monica lived with passion and led with purpose. She leaves behind a stronger financial system, many inspired professionals, and a family that was the centre of her world. 

May her memory be for a blessing, and may her soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life. 

Rob Katz is the 2025 winner of the Investec Business Leadership Award.