Roger Jardine has been appointed chairman designate of Old Mutual to succeed Trevor Manuel, who retires at the end of the group's 2026 annual meeting this year.
Image: Supplied
Old Mutual has appointed well-known South African businessman Roger Jardine as chairman designate, succeeding Trevor Manuel, who retires after the annual general meeting on June 5, 2026.
Manuel will retire having reached the retirement age of 70 as defined in the company board charter.
Old Mutual said the appointment followed a carefully managed succession planning process. A three-month handover period to June 2026 would ensure a seamless transition.
Jardine joined the Old Mutual board as a director in September 2025. He has extensive board-level and executive experience across South and southern Africa.
Most recently, he was chairman of FirstRand for nearly six years. Prior to this, he held chief executive roles at Kagiso Media, Aveng Group and Primedia, and has served as a non-executive director across a diverse range of sectors, including steel, retail, manufacturing, IT services, mining services, and infrastructure development.
“The board is confident his (Jardine’s) proven strategic, governance, and operational leadership will be invaluable to Old Mutual as it continues on its ambitious path of strategic and operational renewal and enhanced value creation,” said Manuel.
Meanwhile, Old Mutual reported its annual results on Tuesday that reflected steady operating performance and progress on the recently launched OM Bank. CEO Jurie Strydom said they had also completed a reset of the group’s strategy to unlock value and generate growth.
Group equity value per share increased by 2% to R19.80 for the year to December 31, enhanced by business performance in Old Mutual Insure and Old Mutual Wealth. A final dividend of 56 cents a share brought the total dividend 8% higher to 93 cents a share.
Results from operations increased by 13% to R9.8 billion, supported by improved operating performance in Old Mutual Life and Savings and Old Mutual Insure, including improved profitability in Old Mutual Finance.
Earnings were also significantly impacted by elevated market performance and returns in Malawi, which is experiencing high inflation and foreign currency shortages. Assuming a devaluation of the Malawian kwacha, results from operations growth would have been up between 7% and 9%.
Strydom said during 2025, Old Mutual sharpened its corporate strategy around a clear value creation framework, spanning two phases: unlocking value and generating growth.
This framework was anchored in four priorities: driving competitiveness in South Africa; deepening market leadership in Southern Africa; establishing the right to win for OM Bank; and evaluating and selectively pivoting in growth markets and initiatives.
The group also implemented a more devolved operating model, with greater end-to-end accountability for delivery within business clusters, supported by a leaner corporate centre.
“The focus has shifted decisively to execution,” said Strydom.
On cost efficiency, the R2.5bn cost savings commitment, targeted for the end of 2027, had been cascaded into cluster scorecards and incentives, with R450 million of savings delivered in 2025.
In Old Mutual Life and Savings, a revised operating model had brought clearer accountability for product profitability, and operational improvements focused on recovering market share.
Customer and retail deposit trends in OM Bank continued to track well, ahead of broader planned marketing campaigns, supported by strong activations, with 46% of customers originating through the Old Mutual branch network.
The group announced a R3bn share buyback in September, of which R682m had been completed by December. The buyback will continue while value accretive to shareholders.
In the Life business, annual premium equivalent sales increased by 3%, supported by improving sales in South Africa and strong performance from Old Mutual Africa Regions. The value of new business margin declined due to persistency and lower annuity sales in South Africa.
When looking at the general insurance business, gross written premiums increased by 5% driven by a 7% year-on-year improvement in Old Mutual Insure, which sustained organic growth complemented by acquisitions, most notably ONE Financial Services, with net underwriting margin increasing to 6.8%.
Strong cash generation supported the increase in dividends and saw discretionary capital almost doubling to R6.1bn, including capital committed to complete the approved share buyback.
BUSINESS REPORT