Prof. Hanlie Smuts has been an Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of Pretoria since 2017. She was appointed as Head of Department of Informatics in 2022.

During her tenure in industry prior to joining the University of Pretoria, her role aimed to deliver consistent customer relevance across all digital touch points by empowering customers through convenient and effective self-service, and by driving growth through personalised digital offerings and adjacent ecosystems.

Her lecturing and research role focuses on Information Systems and the organisation, with particular emphasis on Society 5.0, digital transformation, big data management, artificial intelligence, and knowledge management. Prof Smuts is deputy chair of the Knowledge Management South Africa (KMSA) board and has published several papers and book chapters in her field of study.