I am pleased to announce that we have appointed Mandla Shezi as RMA’s new Chief Executive Officer. Mandla will take over from Jay Singh, who is retiring from RMA at the end of June 2020. Mandla will be CEO designate from the 1st of February 2020 and fully assume office as CEO on the 1st of July 2020. Both Jay and Mandla will work closely, hand in hand to ensure a smooth transition during this period.
In line with our business policies, the recruitment process included appointing an interview panel comprising of members of the Nominations Committee, Remuneration Committee and Shareholder representatives, to ensure a thorough and successful interview process for a potential successor. After a rigorous search process, I am delighted that Mandla Shezi has agreed to join RMA.
Mandla Shezi joins us from Hollard where he held the position of CEO - Hollard International and was previously Managing Director of Hollard Affinities and Direct for 12 years. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
He is an engineer turned businessman. He studied chemical engineering and worked as a process engineer and an economist early on in his career. His passion for business management and decision-making inspired him to move from engineering to business management where he worked as a management consultant at Bain and Company from 2000 to 2002. He moved to SAB as an executive assistant to the CEO where he was responsible for strategic projects across the group and was also manufacturing manager for two of SAB’s plant operations.
In 2007, he joined Hollard as MD and led different divisions for the group. He has both long term and short-term insurance experience and has been MD of a division at Hollard that was focused on SA for 12 years and led a division that had Africa and Asia focus with country CEOs reporting to him.
In this position, Mandla will provide strategic and managerial leadership in partnership with the RMA Executive Team to help execute the company’s strategy. His wealth of experience in the Insurance and Financial Services arena will contribute to the growth strategy of our Non-COID business and his extensive knowledge of emerging markets into the rest of Africa will drive our new Africa Growth strategy. His vast experience in stakeholder management with multiple strategic partners will be beneficial to driving our growth strategy and in utilising our state-of-the-art IT software.
Mandla has excellent business experience and the drive to work with all of us to take RMA to the next level of growth and development. I am personally very pleased that we have been able to attract someone of his calibre, track record and further potential. He is a strong, dynamic and values-driven leader with an impressive track record of delivering consistent high-quality performance.
On behalf of the Board and the Shareholders, I look forward to working with him and the RMA Executive Team over the next few years to continue the exceptional growth of our business.
Regards
Thabo Dloti
RMA Board Chairperson