The Board of Old Mutual Limited (OML) has decided to separate with the Group CEO, Peter Moyo,  so releasing him from his duties and enabling the appointment of an interim chief executive officer.

The separation was a result of a material breakdown of trust and confidence, which occurred due to the management of conflicts of interest in business relations with related parties.

These business relations pre-exist the appointment of Mr Moyo as CEO of OML and were considered at the time of the appointment to be manageable.

The competing interests were regulated in the chief executive’s contract of employment and were disclosed in the OML pre-listing statement and the annual financial statements.

Unfortunately the Board and Mr Moyo have disagreed materially on how the conflict of interest has been managed, resulting in a breakdown in the required mutual trust and confidence.

The decision to separate with the CEO is neither the result of performance or financial misconduct related to the Old Mutual business, and is purely related to the conflict of interest issue.

The Board has appointed Old Mutual’s Chief Operating Officer, Iain Williamson, as acting CEO.

Williamson is a seasoned executive at Old Mutual and we are confident that he will provide the appropriate stewardship during this period.