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Old Mutual has wooed back Malusi Ndlovu to its fold as it builds its mass-market proposition in a highly competitive market that has seen financial services companies splash cash to get top talent.Ndlovu returns to Old Mutual from Absa, taking over the role of MD of the mass foundation cluster. The financial services major said he has been appointed to drive customer‑centred growth in the mass market.“As MD of the Mass Foundation Cluster, Ndlovu will lead a business focused on expanding access to financial services while strengthening distribution capability, improving productivity, building high-performing teams and ensuring that customer needs remain at the centre of every strategic decision,” the company said in a statement.Ndlovu said the industry is entering a period in which brand connection will become its greatest competitive advantage and that South Africa’s lower-income and emerging middle-class market presents one of the biggest opportunities for innovation in financial services.(Dorothy Kgosi) “The next phase of reinvention in financial services will not come from opening more channels or selling more products. It will come from being more relevant to customers’ everyday lives. The organisations that succeed will be those that understand their customers deeply enough to solve real problems with solutions that are simple, accessible and genuinely valuable,” Ndlovu said.“For too long, success has often been measured by how many products we sell. I believe the better question is whether we are helping customers make meaningful financial progress. Sustainable growth will be achieved through customer value and meaningful experiences.“This is a market that deserves quality thinking, innovation and customer experience. Affordability should never mean lowering our ambitions for customers. It should challenge us to design smarter, more intuitive financial solutions that meet people where they are in their financial journeys.”Read: UAE’s R6.6-trillion banking giant just won the right to take on FNBOld Mutual has made several external hires across its insurance and banking businesses as it seeks to deepen its presence in the mass and affluent markets while insurance and retail companies are upping the banking game.To this end, Old Mutual’s banking proposition, OM Bank, earlier roped in the services of former FNB and Standard Bank staffer Ethel Nyembe as chief product and innovation officer.OM Bank is expected to launch its lending activities in the second half of the year. Old Mutual long-time rival Sanlam is also sharpening its banking claws via its partnership with GoTyme, formerly TymeBank. The partnership brings together about 17-million clients.Pepkor’s financial services business is also growing at an exponential rate, adding gravitas to the group’s ambitions to launch a bank and take on the established lenders in the fight for the mass-market wallet. Old Mutual has not only recruited for OM Bank but has also bolstered its other businesses with additional expertise.The financial services group has the founding CEO of Capitec Life, Katherine Barker, in an executive role in the group’s life and savings business, the group’s heartland.Business Day
