Two senior executives resign from MMI

MMI has confirmed that longtime chief operating officer Danie Botes and CEO of Momentum Retail Etienne de Waal have left the company for personal reasons.

Their departures, which coincided, follow the resignation of brand and corporate affairs chief Vuyo Lee, who was appointed chief marketing officer at Old Mutual Emerging Markets in January.

De Waal and Botes had left MMI after extensive discussions with CEO Nicolaas Kruger and to pursue other interests, said spokesman Dan Moyane.

They had been with the company for 23 years and 28 years, respectively.

Their departures come on the heels of a number of highprofile resignations from life insurance companies, where a difficult operating environment has put pressure on company boards and executives.

Last month, Thabo Dloti left his CEO role at Liberty over disagreements with the board and its majority shareholder, Standard Bank, on how to turn the company around. The insurer reported a 39% decline in headline earnings for the year to December.

In October, CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, Ralph Mupita, left to join MTN as chief financial officer.

After Old Mutual plc’s managed separation, Mupita was the most likely candidate to head up Old Mutual Limited, the new company that will list in Johannesburg and London in 2018 and house the group’s emerging market assets.

Life insurers’ profits have come under pressure from rising unemployment and low growth, fuelling large withdrawals from retirement funds and weakening insurance policy sales.

MMI reported a 5% fall in headline earnings to R1.6bn for the six months to December. MMI’s management did not

have a great track record and there had been some calls for change, said an analyst who declined to be named.

“MMI was very cost-focused after the merger between Metropolitan and Momentum, but have since made a number of acquisitions that have not performed well.

“They have also put a higher value on these businesses than I think is fair.”

Metropolitan, traditionally a strong business in the entrylevel market, has lost market share to Sanlam and Old Mutual, while the retail affluent market remained highly contested.

The insurance group’s share price is down more than 16% this year, with two hold and two sell ratings on the stock.

The JSE’s life insurance index is flat, while Liberty’s stock is up more than 2%.

Group finance director Mary Vilakazi would oversee Botes’s function for the time being, Moyane said. De Waal’s successor would be announced soon.