Listed financial services company Alexander Forbes has appointed DJ (Dawie) de Villiers as group chief executive, and a director of the company, with effect from 1 November 2018.
He will also be appointed as a director to a number of the company’s subsidiary boards.
Late last month, the company announced the termination of its group chief executive and director of the company, Andrew Darfoor, citing ‘a loss of confidence and trust’ as the reason.
De Villiers holds a BSc Actuarial Science and has completed the Advanced Management Programme, at the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD). He is also a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa.
He joined Sanlam in 1993 and rapidly progressed into senior leadership and executive positions in various Sanlam business units.
Previous positions, inter alia, include CEO of Sanlam Structured Solutions and since 2013 as the CEO of Sanlam Employee Benefits.
According to Alexander Forbes, de Villiers has a wealth of experience in the employee benefits and investment management industry and “believes that the employee benefits industry can have a huge influence in South Africa by really changing people’s lives through enabling financial peace of mind”.