STANDARD Bank Group has appointed Liberty Holdings’s chief executive David Munro as its new group executive to lead the integration of the insurance and asset management company into the group.
Insurance group Liberty delisted from the JSE on March 1, 2022 following the 100 percent acquisition of its shareholding by Standard.
Standard chief executive Sim Tshabalala, said: “We will now be able to bring the group’s insurers, asset managers and bankers closer together to create a more united whole that will be far greater than the sum of its parts. Together, we will build a fiercely competitive African financial services giant.”
Munro has a 26-year career with the group, first in corporate and investment banking, and then as chief executive of Liberty.
“David is widely recognised as one of South Africa’s most accomplished corporate leaders. We are fortunate to draw on his formidable combination of expertise and energy in this new role. He will continue to serve on the Standard Bank Group leadership council and will report to me. His appointment remains subject to regulatory approval,” said Tshabalala.
Also on Friday, the Liberty board said it had appointed its financial director Yuresh Maharaj as the new chief executive of Liberty.
Standard has also restructured the Liberty board.
Yunus Suleman has taken over from Jacko Maree as chairman. In addition to Suleman, the following current independent board members had agreed to remain on the Liberty board: Carol Roskruge Cele, Howard Walker, Nooraya Khan, Simon Ridley, and Nick Criticos.
In addition to Maree, Jim Sutcliffe, Thembisa Skweyiya, Prins Mhlanga, and Laura Hartnady had resigned from the board, effective from March 2, 2022.
To ensure continuity, Munro is to stay on as a member of the Liberty board and as chairman of Stanlib, while Suleman is to remain an executive director of the Liberty board.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE