In profile
Azola Zuma
Karin Muller
Lebo Monyatsi
Chief Executive Officer: Sanlam Investment Management
Chief Executive: Sanlam Individual Life
Head of Group Market Development and Stakeholder Relations
Azola Zuma is the Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam Investments’ Asset Management business, which includes the equities, fixed income, absolute return and balanced fund teams. She started her career at Alexander Forbes as an asset consultant. She joined Sanlam from Vunani Limited, where she fulfilled various roles, of which the latest was Executive Director and Head of Business Development in the group’s asset management business, Vunani Fund Managers. In this role, Zuma was responsible for managing the business in close collaboration with the CEO, and positioning the company appropriately to its target market to secure new business. Client retention and service were also part of her responsibilities, with her insights into target-market needs feeding directly into product development. Zuma’s other roles at Vunani included group strategy and business development, as well as Investment Banking Executive. She served on the group exco, was a member of the social and ethics committee, and chaired the Vunani Foundation, the group’s CSI vehicle. She also spent a short while at Africa Vukani Investment Management Services as the Head of Retirement Fund Support Services. Her foundational training in the financial services industry was received while she worked at Alexander Forbes as an investment consultant. Zuma holds a degree in business science (with an honours in finance), an MA (International Business) and an MBA (International Business and Management). She is an International Women’s Forum Fellow.
Karin Muller was appointed the Chief Executive of Sanlam Individual Life on 1 August 2016. Sanlam Individual Life offers long-term insurance solutions to clients in South Africa. An actuary and a CFA charter holder, Muller first joined Sanlam in January 1997. Before her appointment as Chief Executive of Sanlam Individual Life, she was the Head of Growth Market Solutions, where she was responsible for the development of a sound financial value proposition for middle-market Sanlam clients. At the same time, she led the marketing function at Sanlam Individual Life and Segment Solutions, as well as some across-business functions in SPF. She has also held other senior positions at Sanlam, which included Valuations Consultant and Manager: Research and Development for Sanlam Employee Benefits; Actuarial Advisor; Specialist Product Designer; and Business Owner for the SanlamConnect project. Recognised for her professional contribution to the company, she was awarded the SPF Activator Award in 2007 and received the prestigious Sanlam Group Chief Executive Award in 2008. She is a fellow of both the Institute of Actuaries and the Actuarial Society of South Africa, and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA South Africa.
Lebo Monyatsi is one of Sanlam’s inspiring leaders. She espouses the organisation’s values – leading with courage, caring for and respecting others, and acting with integrity and accountability. A Nelson Mandela scholar with an MBA from the University of Nottingham in the UK, Monyatsi’s journey began in the flower fields of Douglas, Northern Cape, with a happy childhood. “My passion was law. I followed my heart and graduated with a BProc Law from the University of the North West,” she says. She began her career at the Road Accident Fund, after which she joined the South African Air Force, becoming the first black woman commissioned as a military law officer in the air force. She then ventured into the private sector – specifically financial services – and in 2010 joined Sanlam. She says Sanlam’s employee value proposition fosters talent and growth. “I’m a beneficiary of Sanlam’s commitment to empowering its people.” In 2013, Monyatsi was one of 34 Sanlam leaders selected for the GIBS Executive Leadership Programme. The nine-month course brings colleagues together from around the world, and equips them with exceptional leadership skills. Monyatsi’s approach to leadership is inspiring. “I believe in an open-door policy,” she says. “I also believe in giving my team members true ownership of their roles, which gives them an opportunity to thrive, and the space to make mistakes and grow from them. My motto is that you need to live impactfully to make a difference in people’s lives.”
t: +27 (0)11 778 6000 www.sanlaminvestments.com
t: +27 (0)21 947 9111 www.sanlam.co.za
t: +27 (0)11 778 6000 www.sanlam.co.za
SAPOA women in is property I have learnt over the years that when one’s mind made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done, does away with fear - Rosa Parks
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