Old Mutual has appointed Dave Macready as Chief Executive of Old Mutual South Africa effective May 1, 2015.

Macready moves from within the wider Old Mutual group where he is currently the Group Managing Executive of Nedbank Wealth and a member of the Nedbank Group Executive Committee.

"I am honored to progress my career in this critical role within the Group. Old Mutual South Africa presents exciting opportunities ahead and I look forward to working with the Old Mutual Executive team to build on the solid foundation and heritage created as well as to contribute meaningfully towards driving our transformation and socio-economic goals,” said Macready.

He is a seasoned executive with a solid track record in wealth management, asset management and insurance together with the technical and leadership skills pivotal for his role at Old Mutual.

In his capacity as a Group Executive of Nedbank, he has for more than a decade been working closely with the SA businesses to drive synergies and collaboration.

He was instrumental in growing, over 10 years, one of the most efficient bancassurance models in South Africa resulting in the generation of 13% of overall Nedbank Group non-interest revenue from insurance activities alone.

He was also responsible for driving the Nedgroup investments strategy which grew assets under management from R18bn in 2004 to R214bn today as well as the integration of the various wealth management businesses of the Nedbank Group under a single brand.

This experience places him in a great position to build on the solid foundation created by Marshall Rapiya, CEO of Old Mutual South Africa, who has led the South African business since 2011.

After 37 years of service, Rapiya will take up a new Deputy Chair role in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company South Africa, the largest subsidiary in Old Mutual Emerging Markets.

In his new role, Rapiya will work closely with Ralph Mupita, CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, and Macready to ensure continuity, and provide strategic support to socio-economic commitments to the National Development Plan in South Africa, mentoring of executives within the Old Mutual group, and provide strategic support for the rest of Africa business, specifically East and West Africa.

“It has been an incredible journey to lead the SA franchise over the last 4 years and I am especially appreciative of my contribution to the legacy created towards building the Mass Foundation Cluster to become the market share leader it is today. I feel humbled to have had such a long career with Old Mutual, enabling me to play a broader role in the socio-economic transformation of South Africa. I am privileged to embrace my next challenge in a different role where I can continue to contribute to shaping the South African socio–economic landscape as well as the growth of our business on the African continent,” said Rapiya.

Mupita added: “I am very excited about the roles that Dave and Marshall will now play within the greater business. We are looking to make our businesses stronger, more competitive and strengthen group collaboration in South Africa.”

“We have initiatives underway that we believe support the implementation of the National Development Plan, and both Dave and Marshall will make critical contributions to those initiatives. I’m equally excited about the deep bench of young talented black executives coming through, which augurs very well for our transformation efforts in the near term. South African black executives run businesses that generate over 60% of our South African profits if you look at our 2014 financials,” he said.