Alexander Forbes boss Darfoor reshuffles executive committee

NEW Alexander Forbes CEO Andrew Darfoor has restructured his executive committee 14 days after officially taking over, shaking up a team that has mostly been in place since the retirement administrator relisted on the JSE.

Under the new structure, the group’s financial services business, led by Peter Edwards, will operate as an institutional financial service, while the top posts at its international division and group information technology have been dispensed with.

All other executives, including finance chief Deon Viljoen, who acted as interim CEO while the company sought a replacement for former boss Edward Kieswetter, have been retained in their positions.

“Sugendhree Reddy, MD of retail financial services, will focus on optimising collaboration with the leaders of Investment Solutions [Derrick Msibi] and Institutional Financial Services [Edwards],” Darfoor said.

Alexander Forbes International CEO Grant Stobart has been given responsibility for mergers and acquisitions, as well as consulting actuaries Lane Clark & Peacock.

Darfoor will directly oversee the international business.

Group information technology director Bradley Eliot would report to chief operations officer Stephen Price, said Darfoor. The restructuring was part of the group’s strategy to deliver operational efficiencies.

Members of the investment community welcomed the move. Nico Smuts, an investment analyst at 36One Asset Management, said the restructuring was not radical. That most of the executive committee members had been retained is “good for continuity”, he said.

Abax Investments’s Anthony Sedgwick said he had a high regard for the professional abilities of the team members.

Smuts said Alexander Forbes’s management had highlighted cross-selling its products as a growth driver.