Team

He was also responsible for the overall Marketing function for the group. He previously served as Executive Head: Strategic Business Development where he was responsible for the identification and driving of targeted growth opportunities across the Santam Group of Companies including collaboration with Sanlam.

These business opportunities span across ground up initiatives, acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships. His other past experience includes the role of Executive Head: Distribution Services at Discovery Insure where he was also one of the founding executives of Discovery Business Insurance. He has over 18 years of extensive experience in the financial services industry.

He is a past president, and former executive council member, of the Insurance Institute of Gauteng (IIG) and a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of South Africa. And he served as non-executive director on the boards of two Santam Group subsidiary companies [Indwe Broker Holdings (Chairman) & Snyman van der Vyver] and served as non-executive director of Ayo Holdings Limited (an MTN Group subsidiary company in alliance with Sanlam)

Gerald holds the following qualifications:
BCom Risk Management, UNISA;
Senior Management Development Programme, University of Stellenbosch
General Management Program, Harvard Business School

He has extensive experience in negotiation in both public and private spheres as a result of his trade union work where he was involved in strategy formulation and leading negotiations. Mr Madikiza’s experience in the financial sector began in 1990, when he drove the bancassurance model for Meeg Bank.

Prior to working for Sanlam, he was the Chief Executive Officer (2018 – 2020) and Chief Executive Officer Designate (2017 – 2018) for African Rainbow Life.

Before he started at African Rainbow Life, he held the positions of Chief Executive Officer for Lion of Africa Insurance (2016 – 2017); Managing Director of the Mass Market Cluster (2014 – 2015) and Managing Director of the Corporate Cluster (2010 – 2014) for Old Mutual; Group Social Equity Manager for Sun International (1999 – 2001); and Head of Negotiations for SACCAWU (1993 – 1995).

He holds a Management Advancement Programme from Wits Graduate School, an MBA in Negotiations from the Graduate School of Negotiation and an Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School.

An MBA graduate from the University of Stellenbosch where he received a highest achievement Merit Award for Strategy. Aklaaq began his career in healthcare serving as a trustee on the Board, Audit Committee and Pension Fund of Global Health Medical Scheme.

He has also been a member of various other committees and forums, including Chairperson of the Audit Committee, Risk Committee and Mayoral Performance Evaluation Panel for the City of Cape Town. Aklaaq Mahmood is the director for AfroCentric Group’s Business Development and chairperson of Medscheme Namibia. He is a director for a number of AfroCentric Group subsidiaries. Further responsibilities include the integration of new acquisitions into the Group.

He is a member of the Institute of Commercial and Financial Accountants of Southern Africa and is a certified public accountant and tax practitioner.

He is the Group CEO of Community Investment Holdings and is appointed on all its subsidiaries’ Boards. He is also a Non-executive Director of public listed companies Distell, Jasco and AfroCentric.

Fezeka joins the AfroCentric Group from Concor Construction (previously Murray & Roberts Construction), where she held several positions including Senior Executive: Business Development and Stakeholder Engagement, Project Development Executive and Strategic Planning Executive/Manager in the Office of the CEO.

Satish is the former Head of Sanlam Pan Africa’s Motor Insurance division, where he was responsible for executing significant regional partnerships and growing the motor insurance portfolios across East & Southern Africa. He also served on the boards of FBN GI (Nigeria) and Grand-Reinsurance (Zimbabwe) as Sanlam’s representative non-executive director. Following this stint in the Pan-African environment and prior to joining Afrocentric, Satish oversaw strategy development for the Sanlam Group, Africa’s largest non-banking financial services group, where he guided strategic reviews and translated these into actionable initiatives.

As a qualified actuary (FIA UK), Satish holds a robust understanding of insurance and financial principles. Complementing this expertise is his completion of an Executive MBA from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, a testament to his commitment to continuous learning and leadership development.

His educational background, coupled with his extensive professional journey, underscores his strategic acumen and proficiency in navigating complex financial landscapes, positioning him as an adept leader in the financial services arena.