Old Mutual Strengthens Leadership with High-Impact External Appointments

Five external leaders appointed across Old Mutual Life & Savings, OM Bank and Old Mutual Insure, bringing world-class expertise and fresh perspectives to accelerate delivery on Old Mutual’s strategic priorities.

– Old Mutual is entering a new phase defined by refreshed strategic priorities and focused execution. A series of leadership appointments across three of the Group’s core businesses signals a deliberate push to accelerate execution, strengthen its competitive position and deliver on the promises made at its 2025 Capital Markets Day.

The appointments span Old Mutual Life and Savings, the Group’s largest and most established business; OM Bank, its single largest strategic investment and primary growth engine; and Old Mutual Insure, a business on a clear and compelling turnaround trajectory. Together, they constitute a statement of intent: Old Mutual is building the bench strength to compete harder, grow faster and deliver more consistently.

“We are delighted to attract external talent with proven expertise and experience to complement our internal talent pipeline. These leaders bring the skills, track records and outside-in perspectives that will make a real and immediate difference to our strategic delivery across the Group.” –Jurie Strydom, Group Chief Executive Officer

Old Mutual Life and Savings: Reinforcing the Stronghold

Old Mutual Life and Savings is the Group’s heartland. These appointments are designed to sharpen its competitive edge and unlock the next level of performance in a business already operating at scale.

Katherine Barker | Proposition Executive Head | Effective 1 April 2026

Barker arrives with a very compelling resume. As founding CEO of Capitec Life, she built a fully licensed digital life insurer from a blank page, putting in place the governance, operating model and leadership capability that turned an idea into a market reality. Her track record of pioneering accessible, data-led insurance for underserved segments will help Old Mutual Life and Savings sharpen its proposition and broaden its reach. Her appointment signals a step-change in how the business will design and deliver customer solutions.

Malusi Ndlovu | Managing Director: Mass Foundation Cluster | Effective 1 July 2026

Ndlovu returns to Old Mutual with an expanded playbook forged at Absa, where he consolidated a major wealth business, rebuilt adviser productivity and constructed new distribution channels from scratch. Before that, at Old Mutual Corporate, he closed some of the largest and most complex employee benefits transactions in South Africa and spearheaded the acquisition and integration of the Remchannel business, outperforming its business case within two years. He takes the helm of the Mass and Foundation Cluster at a moment when unlocking long-term value in the mass market is central to the Group’s growth story.

OM Bank: Fuelling the Growth Engine

OM Bank is Old Mutual’s boldest strategic bet. A purpose-built banking offering backed by the Group’s full weight and ambition. These appointments are designed to build the commercial firepower to turn potential into performance.

Ethel Nyembe | Chief Product and Innovation Officer | Effective 1 January 2026

Nyembe has spent more than two decades at the intersection of banking, payments and product innovation at FNB and Standard Bank where she led insight-driven solutions across a global footprint. A founding member of Women in Payments Africa, she brings not just technical depth but genuine industry influence. At OM Bank, she will lead the work of building a digitally native, customer-first product suite that can differentiate the bank in a crowded market.

Ancley Jacobs | Chief Growth Officer | Effective 1 May 2026

Jacobs is a proven growth architect. At Standard Bank he led product strategy for South Africa at scale; at FNB, where he spent 16 years, he served as CEO of Retail Transactional Banking, driving market-leading digital growth and customer acquisition across the retail segment. He now takes ownership of Marketing, Retail Sales, Strategic Partnerships, Home Loans and Business Banking at OM Bank. His appointment is a clear message that Old Mutual intends to compete and win in the banking space.

Old Mutual Insure: Sustaining the Turnaround

Old Mutual Insure is a business in motion, and this appointment is designed to lock in the gains and build the operational foundations for the next chapter of its transformation. 

Mari Janzen | Chief Operating Officer | Effective June 2026

Janzen arrives from Hollard Insurance, where as Group COO, she oversaw a portfolio spanning IT, data and analytics, human capital and shared services. Before that, she held Joint CEO and COO roles at Regent Insurance, with additional experience at Telesure and Deloitte. She steps into a consolidated COO mandate covering IT, EPMO, Brand and Marketing, Customer Experience, Data and Analytics, Business Controls and Facilities; a structural move designed to drive the consistency and scalability that sustained high performance demands.

A Bench Built for What Comes Next

Taken together, these appointments reflect a Group that knows where it’s going and is making deliberate choices about who leads it there. Old Mutual Life and Savings is sharpening its competitive edge. OM Bank is building the commercial engine to grow boldly. Old Mutual Insure is consolidating its turnaround. Across all three, the Group is deepening the leadership capability required to move faster, execute better, and create more consistent value for customers, shareholders and society.