Garth Napier appointed Managing Director of Old Mutual Insure

Garth Napier, Managing Director of Old Mutual Insure

Old Mutual Limited (OML) is pleased to announce the appointment of Garth Napier as Managing Director (MD) of Old Mutual Insure, pending regulatory approval.

Old Mutual Insure is South Africa’s 3rd largest short term insurer by written premium. It is primarily focused on South African business and supports the growth of the Old Mutual group’s other African property and casualty insurance operations.

Napier’s extensive experience in retail strategy formulation and execution as well as his solid business management credentials make him the ideal candidate to lead the continued turnaround of Old Mutual Insure.

Napier holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University.

As the Managing Director of Pep Africa he was responsible for over 330 stores operating across seven countries (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Prior to this role, Garth was the Managing Director for the Edcon Speciality Division, comprising five chains with over 700 stores in total.

Old Mutual Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Moyo is confident Napier will be able to build on the improvements already achieved and restore profitability. “Through various initiatives we have been strengthening the overall customer experience and operational efficiency of the Old Mutual Insure business. With Napier at the helm, I believe we will be in an even stronger position to reconstruct the Old Mutual Insure portfolio, introduce a more focused underwriting process and further enhance the claims processes,” he says.

Moyo thanked Hannes Wilken, who served as Acting MD of Old Mutual Insure for the past year, for his remarkable contribution and for driving the continued turnaround of the business, as evidenced by the excellent underwriting margins announced in OML’s recent interim results.

Napier says he is looking forward to joining a Group that has strengthened its focus on Africa and outlined a very clear and tangible strategy. “The momentum and energy of Old Mutual’s recent listing and subsequent brand repositioning is inspiring, while the fact that Old Mutual Insure is also the oldest short-term insurer in the country with a rich heritage is both humbling and very exciting.”