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(Alliance News) - Old Mutual Ltd on Friday said it appointed Iain Williamson as permanent chief executive, with immediate effect.
Williamson was named acting chief executive of the Cape Town, South Africa-based insurer in June 2019, having previously served as chief operating officer.
The move came after the Anglo-South African financial services firm fired Chief Executive Peter Moyo following a conflict of interest. Moyo had been suspended in May 2019 following a "material breakdown of trust and confidence". Moyo had declared these interests, Old Mutual said, but the parties disagreed on how they had been managed.
One of the issues was a ZAR115 million dividend paid by investment firm NMT Capital, of which ZAR30.6 million went to Moyo's personal investment vehicle. Old Mutual also has a stake in NMT Capital, and Moyo is a founder and non-executive director.
Meanwhile, Williamson has built an "exceptional" career at Old Mutual, it said, spanning almost three decades. During this time, he gained experience delivering across a range of senior roles including chief financial officer of the Retail Affluent segment and then managing director of the Retail Affluent segment.
He was appointed as Old Mutual Emerging Markets' finance director in 2015, then as COO of Old Mutual in 2017.
"Over the last year, acting as Interim CEO, he has worked to steer Old Mutual through some significant leadership and operational challenges," said Chair Trevor Manuel.
Old Mutual shares were trading 2.2% lower in Johannesburg on Friday at ZAR12.47 each, while in London the stock was down 1.3% at 59.16 pence a share.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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