Alexander Forbes, a global provider of financial and risk services, has appointed Andrew Darfoor as Group Chief Executive, effective September 1, 2016.

Darfoor has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services sector gained in countries such as Bermuda, Canada, Switzerland, the US and the UK.

He joins Alexander Forbes from Sun Life Financial International, a division of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, where he was CEO, leading a division providing life insurance, protection, savings and wealth management solutions across 50 countries in Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas managing circa $15bn in assets.

Prior to this, Darfoor held a number of senior leadership roles at Old Mutual, where he was President and CEO of Old Mutual (Bermuda), and oversaw all aspects of the business, including sales, marketing, investments, HR, finance, actuarial and operations.

He also previously held international management positions focused on strategy and business development at Credit Suisse AG, UBS AG and EY.

Darfoor said he is “deeply honored to have been given the opportunity to lead Alexander Forbes, which he describes as a truly iconic and globally distinctive African financial services company with a proud 81 year heritage and tremendous future prospects”.

“With consumers taking a deeper interest in their personal wellbeing, Alexander Forbes is well positioned to meet this need with an integrated proposition across retirement, wealth management, investments, health and protection advice and solutions. I very much look forward to working with the Alexander Forbes team and all Alexander Forbes stakeholders as we continue to pursue and execute this vision,” he said.

Darfoor is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants, holding the ACMA and CGMA designations and is a member of the Securities and Investment Institute (UK).

He received a B.Sc. in Economics from Queens Mary College, University of London and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, UK. He has also completed executive management programmes at Harvard (US) and Insead (France) Business Schools.

Sello Moloko, Executive Chairman of Alexander Forbes, said: “We are pleased that following an extensive search during which an impressive list of talented candidates were interviewed, the board has selected Andrew Darfoor as Group Chief Executive.”

“Andrew is a high caliber leader with global financial services experience and a track record of strategic business growth. We are confident that he will work well with his executive management team to provide the leadership needed to successfully implement the strategic transformation of Alexander Forbes,” he said.

Upon Darfoor’s appointment, Moloko reverts to his role as Non-Executive Chairman.

Deon Viljoen has been Interim Group CEO since February 8, 2016.

Having not made himself available for consideration of this role, Viljoen resumes his position as Group Chief Financial Officer.

Moloko said: “I wish to express the board’s sincerest appreciation to Deon for his commitment and strong leadership during the transition period.”