Old Mutual’s outgoing CEO Iain Williamson has put pen to paper on a two-year non-compete deal with the group, in a move that is likely to see him being compensated over the agreement.
Most companies have restraint of trade agreements with their senior executives, but a two-year agreement is not the norm.
Williamson surprised the market when he announced he will take early retirement and step down from the role of group CEO at the age of 55 — ending a more than three-decade association with the group.
The company’s chair of the remuneration committee, Itumeleng Kgaboesele, said Williamson displayed “remarkable commitment and service to the company”, during his tenure at the helm of SA’s largest insurer by assets.
“He will leave Old Mutual a stronger, more resilient and more innovative company that is ideally positioned to grow and thrive into the future,” Kgaboesele said in the company’s annual report published last week.
“Iain will step down from his CEO role at the end of August 2025. Iain has agreed to sign a restraint of trade agreement which will be effective from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2027. Further detail will be disclosed in the 2025 Remuneration Report.”
Williamson came to the CEO role at a difficult period for the group after it dismissed its former CEO Peter Moyo over conflict of interest concerns — in a public and ugly spat.
Under Williamson’s leadership, the group is on the verge of launching its banking proposition, OM Bank, to the market in the last quarter of this year — about eight years after it sold its majority stake in Nedbank.
An actuary, Williamson joined Old Mutual in 1993 and after various roles across employee benefits and personal finance, he relocated to London in a corporate development role at Old Mutual Plc, before coming to SA to take over the COO role.
The imminent departure of Williamson leaves the board with a lot of work to do to fill two key roles, with the group’s CFO having reached retirement age.
The company in October said Casper Troskie had agreed to remain as CFO until April 2027. The decision was made in the interest of continuity and to assist with the execution of various key strategic projects under way, the group said at the time.
The board is considering internal and external candidates to identify a new CEO to lead the company “through its next phase of growth and innovation”.
In his last letter to shareholders as CEO, Williamson thanked the group for an “incredible” 32 years with the company, including the past five as CEO.
He said the company was well-positioned to deliver shareholder returns in the years to come. He also reflected on OM Bank.
“Between 2022 and 2024, we have spent a cumulative R2.8bn to build the bank and to secure a deposit-taking retail banking licence. We anticipate a loss run rate of R1.1bn to R1.3bn per annum, which will reduce over time as revenue is generated, reaching break even in 2028,” he said.
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