The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has suspended its CEO Patrick Dlamini, who has been at the helm of the asset management major for just over a year, throwing the company into yet more leadership turmoil, months after the acrimonious departure of its chief investment officer.Dlamini was appointed to the role in June 2025, with a mandate to, among other things, clean up the entity’s embattled unlisted investment book, the Isibaya Fund, which has over the years been dogged by underperformance and disastrous investments.The PIC on Monday cast doubt on whether Dlamini will finish his term, following allegations of wrongdoing, which have culminated in his suspension.“The board believes it is necessary to provide Mr. Dlamini sufficient space and time to respond to allegations of impropriety against him that were submitted to the board in a whistleblower report last month,” the PIC said in a statement.“In line with applicable labour legislation and internal PIC policies, the precautionary suspension is intended to ensure a fair, objective, and independent investigation into these allegations.“The suspension does not, in any way, constitute a finding, nor is it a pronouncement of any wrongdoing on the part of the CEO. The board is finalising interim arrangements for the position of acting CEO and will make further announcements in due course.”The asset manager also said its acting chief investment officer, August van Heerden, who coincidently stepped in after the ouster of Kabelo Rikhotso in March, will cease fulfilling the role.The PIC, which is the biggest investor on the JSE with assets north of R3-trillion, in March parted ways with chief investment officer Rikhotso, who had been placed on precautionary suspension five months earlier.Rikhotso joined the PIC in 2022 from Visio Fund Management, where he was executive director and fund manager. Rikhotso’s suspension followed a whistleblower complaint against him over allegations of wrongdoing.By parting “amicably”, the details of the allegations were never made public or tested. Dlamini’s suspension comes in the middle of a shake-up of the PIC’s corporate structure, which he is spearheading.Among the leadership overhaul he is pushing for is the separation of the chief investment officer role into three distinct roles: one for the listed space, one for the problematic unlisted investments, and the other for the equally troubled property portfolio. Leon Smit, the current head of fixed income in listed investments for the PIC, will step up to the role of chief investment officer on an interim basis.“Smit is a highly accomplished investment professional with more than three decades of experience in fixed income, treasury management and financial markets,” the PIC said.“He joined the PIC in August 2000 and currently leads the management of listed fixed-income investments and cash flows in accordance with client mandates. “He is responsible for overseeing the PIC’s listed fixed-income dealing activities on the domestic market and driving investment performance while maintaining prudent risk management.”