Old Mutual was one of the best performers on the JSE on Friday after announcing that Jurie Strydom (49) has been appointed Old Mutual CEO and will take up the post in mid-year.
The share price closed 10.04% higher at R12.06, likely indicating investor approval of the new appointment – a year ago the share was trading at R11.13.
Old Mutual’s existing CEO Iain Williamson (55) announced in February that he intended to retire as CEO and as an executive director at the end of August. Strydom’s appointment had followed a “rigorous and expedited process by the Old Mutual board,” the life assurance and financial services group said in a statement.
“The board was looking for an experienced financial services CEO with strategic grip, an exceptional operational track record, and who had led diverse teams, driven successful transformation, and understood financial technology, and we found someone who ticked these boxes,” said Old Mutual chairman, Trevor Manuel in a statement.
Strydom is an actuary and graduate of the University of Cape Town and has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He qualified as a Chartered Financial Analyst from the CFA Institute in the US. Other positions he has held include as CEO of Sanlam Life and Savings, Regent Insurance Group, Alexander Forbes Life, and he was executive director at Imperial Holdings.
“As CEO, his well-established network of strategic relationships will continue to benefit Old Mutual,” said Manuel.
Strydom said he was looking “forward to working with my colleagues and engaging with the diverse range of partners and stakeholders who work with us to drive strategic implementation, innovation, operational resilience, and financial performance.”
He will work closely with Williamson until Old Mutual’s annual general meeting on May 30 for a smooth transition, and he will assume the CEO role the next day. Williamson will remain available to advise and support the CEO and board until his retirement.
Manuel said Williamson had been a true leader, consistently stepping up to provide calm and firm direction whenever the company faced challenges or while the country was in crisis, as happened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Under his leadership, Old Mutual has become a strong, resilient, and innovative company that embraces new technology and is expanding into new areas of financial services and banking,” said Manuel.
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