JOHANNESBURG - Financial services group Sanlam said on Monday Dawie de Villiers, the chief executive officer of Sanlam Employee Benefits (SEB), had resigned and would leave on October 31.
Sanlam said de Villiers who joined the company in 1993 was leaving "to pursue another growth opportunity in the industry".
He will also step down as chairman of Simeka, an independent consulting business operating in the employee benefits industry.
Sanlam said Jocelyn Hathaway had been appointed to act as chief executive until a permanent appointment was made. Hathaway has been with Sanlam since 2011 and currently holds the position of head of finance and operations at Sanlam Corporate.
"Dawie has added significant value to Sanlam during his tenure over the past 25 years," acting chief executive of Sanlam Corporate Temba Mvusi said.
"SEB, which is part of Sanlam Corporate, is a resilient business with a strong leadership team and highly capable staff. I am confident that we have a team with the requisite capacity and commitment to sustain the performance of the business until we can appoint a new chief executive for the business."
Sanlam is a pan-African financial services group listed on the Johannesburg, Namibian and A2X stock exchanges.
Established as a life insurance company, the South Africa-based group has transformed into a diversified financial services business.
Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Personal Finance, Sanlam Emerging Markets, Sanlam Investment Group, Santam, and Sanlam Corporate - the group provides comprehensive and tailored financial solutions to individual and institutional clients across all market segments.