Old Mutual appoints Israel Skosana to its board of directors

Old Mutual has appointed Israel Skosana (54) as an independent director of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company of South Africa (OMLACSA) with effect from 20 November 2007. He has also been appointed as a member of the group's Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

""I am pleased to welcome Israel to the OMLACSA board," says Jim Sutcliffe, the Chief Executive of Old Mutual plc. "His vast commercial experience will guide us in ensuring the group continues to adhere to strict financial controls and processes. In addition, his proven leadership abilities will be of value as we focus on playing a meaningful role in the economic transformation of South Africa."

Skosana is a Chartered Accountant (CA) SA by profession and an Advanced Management Program graduate of the Harvard School Business.

He is an Executive Director of BEE company, Kapela Investmens Holdings and currently serves on the Council of the University of Pretoria. He is also a Non Executive director of the Datacentrix Holdings Limited, Ellerine Holdings Limited and Ambit Properties Ltd. He has recently been appointed to the KWV Ltd Board.

Skosana is a founder member and past President of the Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA), and has played an active role in promoting the development of talent in the financial services field among the previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa.

For 10 years he served as a Commercial Member of the Special Tax Courts and was the first Chairman of the South African Civil Aviation Authority. Skosana was among the first non-executive directors of the Financial Services Board and the Policy Board for Financial Services.

He has been an Honorary Professor in the Department of Accountancy and Financial Management at the University of Pretoria, and also Professor Extra ordinaries in the department of Applied Accountancy at the University of South Africa (UNISA).

From 2002 to 2006 Skosana was the Executive Director of Absa Bank and served as a member of the Group's executive committee.  Previously he was the Chief Executive of South African Express Airways and of Sarhwu Investment Holdings.

During his career he has also held various financial posts at the Anglo American Corporation, Deloitte, IBM and NSB.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
He is married and has four children.