Old Mutual appoints Malusi Ndlovu to lead customer-centred growth in the mass market

Old Mutual has appointed seasoned financial services executive Malusi Ndlovu as Managing Director of its Mass Foundation Cluster, effective 1 July 2026, signaling the group's continued focus on delivering more relevant, accessible and customer-centred financial solutions to millions of South Africans.

Ndlovu returns to Old Mutual after leading Wealth Consolidation and Distribution at ABSA, bringing extensive leadership experience across corporate strategy, product development, distribution and client engagement. Having previously held several senior leadership roles within Old Mutual Corporate, Ndlovu returns with both a deep understanding of the organisation and a proven track record of translating strategy into measurable business outcomes.

As Managing Director of the Mass Foundation Cluster, Ndlovu will lead a business focused on expanding access to financial services while strengthening distribution capability, improving productivity, building high-performing teams and ensuring that customer needs remain at the centre of every strategic decision.

For Ndlovu, however, the future of financial services will not be determined by the size of an organisation's footprint alone.

“The next phase of reinvention in financial services will not come from opening more channels or selling more products. It will come from being more relevant to customers' everyday lives. The organisations that succeed will be those that understand their customers deeply enough to solve real problems with solutions that are simple, accessible and genuinely valuable,” Ndlovu says.

He believes that the industry is entering a period where brand connection will become its greatest competitive advantage.

“For too long, success has often been measured by how many products we sell. I believe the better question is whether we are helping customers make meaningful financial progress. Sustainable growth will be achieved through customers value, through meaningful experiences”.

Ndlovu, South Africa's lower-income and emerging middle-class market, presents one of the greatest opportunities for innovation within the financial services industry.

“This is a market that deserves quality thinking, innovation and customer experience. Affordability should never mean lowering our ambitions for customers. It should challenge us to design smarter, more intuitive financial solutions that meet people where they are in their financial journeys,” Ndlovu says.

He adds that delivering on this ambition requires more than strategy documents and good intentions.

“Strategy has very little value unless it changes outcomes for customers. My focus has always been on translating strategy into execution, building businesses that perform, developing teams that are empowered to deliver and creating measurable impact that customers can actually feel,” he adds.

Having previously led Old Mutual Corporate's Large Enterprise Market strategy, corporate consulting business and product demand function, Ndlovu brings experience spanning institutional markets, product innovation, mergers and acquisitions, distribution strategy and customer value proposition development. His leadership included overseeing the acquisition and integration of Remchannel from PwC South Africa, as well as shaping strategic growth initiatives across South Africa and selected African markets.

Returning to Old Mutual, he says, presents an opportunity to contribute to the next chapter of the group's evolution.

“Old Mutual has always played an important role in helping South Africans build financial security across generations. I'm excited to be part of shaping what comes next by ensuring we continue evolving alongside our customers, their changing expectations and the realities they face every day,” says Ndlovu.

Looking ahead, Ndlovu believes the financial services sector has an opportunity to redefine how it achieves and measures success.

“The future belongs to organisations that earn trust every day through relevance, consistency and timeous execution. When we put customers at the centre of every decision, commercial success becomes the outcome,” he notes.

Ndlovu’s appointment reinforces Old Mutual’s commitment to building a more customer-focused, innovative and inclusive financial services business, while strengthening its leadership capability to meet the evolving needs of South Africa's mass market.