Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Britam CEO to head South African insurer after exit

 

Britam Holdings Plc group Chief Executive Tavaziva Madzinga. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG

Britam  CEO Tavaziva Madzinga is headed to South Africa’s insurance company Santam Limited following a one-year stint at the Kenyan insurer.

He is replacing Lizé Lambrechts who is set to retire from the Johannesburg Stocks Exchange (JSE)-listed firm.

Last month, Britam announced Mr Madzinga would leave Britam in April 2022 for an international role giving the company time for a smooth transition as it seeks his replacement.

The Britam CEO, who replaced long-serving Benson Wairegi in February, instituted a radical restructuring of Britam operations merging roles and reviewing contracts that saw most middle and top-level managers leave.

“The board of Santam is pleased to announce the appointment of Tavaziva Madzinga to succeed Lizé Lambrechts as the Santam Group chief executive. He will be appointed as an executive director to the board with effect from April 1, 2022, and chief executive with effect from July 1, 2022,” the firm said in an operational update at the JSE.

Mr Madzinga, who previously served as chief executive of Old Mutual’s operation in Kenya, instituted one of the most radical shake-ups at Britam in recent times eliminating nine top executive positions or nearly half of its management team.

The insurer now has 11 managers from the previous 19, having scrapped several positions, including the principal executive director, chief of staff, group chief operating officer, actuary and product development manager, commercial director and Britam asset management unit.

The CEO roles for the insurer’s life, general and micro-insurance were also eliminated and managers redeployed.

Mr Madzinga offered workers an early retirement package targeting about 138 staff or 10-15 percent of the workforce, which stood at 923 in December 2019.

dguguyu@ke.nationmedia.com

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