Insurer Britam Group has appointed Zimbabwean Tavaziva Madzinga as its new managing director and chief executive taking over from Dr Benson Irungu Wairegi.
Dr Irungu is set to retire at the end of the month after 40 years at the firm.
Mr Madzinga is an actuarial scientist with over 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry and has served in various capacities, including as regional chief executive of the South and East Africa region at Old Mutual.
He served in the same capacity at Swiss Reinsurance Company (Swiss Re), for the United Kingdom and Ireland, and as a managing director at Swiss Re Middle East and Africa.
Mr Madzinga has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cape Town and has attended INSEAD Business School in France as well as Harvard Business School.
“On behalf of our shareholders and the board, I express deep appreciation for Dr Wairegi for his steady leadership, which has seen Britam experience rapid growth,” Britam’s board chair Andrew Hollas said in a statement.
“The board appreciates Dr Wairegi’s service and wishes him the very best in his future endeavors. As a result of his experience in the industry, Britam will continue tapping into his skills in different capacities.”
He added, “The board is confident that the company will benefit immensely from Mr Madzinga’s skills, knowledge and vast experience.”
The appointment comes as the insurer aims to recover from a bad year that saw it issue a profit warning in November, in anticipation of significantly dwindled earnings for the financial year which ended December 31, 2020.
The warning indicates that Britam expects a revenue shortfall of at least Sh855 million in its 2020 financial results.
The drop is attributed to lower returns from equities investments coupled with slow business in the real estate market for property and mortgages, due to market disruptions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2019, the group registered a profit of Sh3.5 billion on the back of higher gains on investments, recovering from a Sh2.2 billion loss in 2018.
