Mutual & Federal realigns corporate operating structure

Ivan Uttley, Strategic Change Executive

Peter Todd, Managing Director of Mutual & Federal

Vuyo Lee, Executive General Manager: Brand, Customer and Transformation

Mutual & Federal, a member of the Old Mutual group, has announced a realignment of its corporate operating structure, in a move to strengthen its market facing business.

This has resulted in the creation of four new positions on the executive structure: Executive General Manager Brand, Customer and Transformation; Chief Risk Officer; Chief Operating Officer; and, a representative for operations in Africa. This realignment is due in part to the insights gained from the market during a roadshow undertaken by the company’s executive team, where they visited 22 operational sites in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

“The roadshow gave us the opportunity to have valuable face-time with 2,363 staff members and 1,709 brokers across the three southern African regions,” says Peter Todd, Managing Director of Mutual & Federal. “Through our engagements we received invaluable information which has informed our direction going forward. Our focus remains on improving the delivery of our customer value proposition and growing our customer base, hence it is essential that we are structured in a manner that achieves this.”

It is for this reason that Mutual & Federal has created the new positions on its Exco. Firstly, Vuyo Lee will be stepping into the role of Executive General Manager: Brand, Customer and Transformation. “Vuyo’s role as head of this new division is critical as we endeavor to focus more on our customers’ needs,” explains Todd. “She will be responsible for driving delivery of customer-centric activities and ensuring sustainable transformation in our business”. Having spent six years at Old Mutual before being appointed as General Manager for Strategy and Marketing at Mutual & Federal in May last year, Vuyo started her career in the FMCG industry working for companies like Coca Cola South Africa and Amalgamated Beverage Industries. She holds a BCom Hons in Marketing from Wits University and completed her MBA degree at UCT Graduate School of Business.

Continuing the theme of focused service delivery, the new position of Chief Operating Officer has also been created. The COO, who has yet to be appointed, will be responsible for aligning all elements of client-facing services, such as IT, administration and sales and claims processing functions. Peter Todd adds, “We have also appointed Edward Paul as Chief Risk Officer, who will be accountable for prudent management of actuarial and business risk. This will ensure that all our future decisions are made in the full knowledge of the impact on capital efficacy.” Edward joined the actuarial support team at Mutual & Federal in 2003 from Deloitte, where he worked as a consulting actuary in the short-term industry. Since 2008, he held the designation of General Manager: Products, Actuarial and Reinsurance, responsible for the Reinsurance, Personal Technical, Commercial Technical and Business Intelligence functions. Edward is a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa and also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Another critical avenue which Mutual & Federal is now actively pursuing involves expanding its operations in Africa. “We have created a role to focus on our existing and future business opportunities in the region. Our African operations have shown strong performances over the past few years and we believe we can extract more value from them by creating a stronger support structure,” elaborates Todd. The new appointee will also be responsible for growing the Mutual & Federal footprint in Africa, in collaboration with the Old Mutual Emerging Market business.

Mutual & Federal has also brought in change management skills through the appointment of Ivan Uttley as Strategic Change Executive. Ivan has extensive experience in leading major change programmes, having previously done so as Head of Change and then Chief Operating Officer for ABSA Small Business Banking where over the last 4 years he played a significant role in the turnaround of that business. Ivan, who holds a B.Sc in Electronic Engineering from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from INSEAD, has consulted to several international companies such as eBay, Merrill Lynch and Ford.

“These changes to the Mutual & Federal operating structure are deliberately being implemented at the highest level of our business, so that they can have a real influence on day-to-day operations and policy” concludes Todd. “By creating these four new roles, which are vital to a customer-centric business, we will be able to amplify our service to our customers and show once again why we are the leaders in the short-term insurance business.”

Mutual & Federal is one of the leading short-term insurers in southern Africa.