Please share your career trajectory to this point.
My career has been shaped by a strong belief that financial services should create meaningful value for people, businesses and society. As a qualified chartered accountant, I began my career at PwC in Johannesburg, where I completed my articles and built a strong foundation in finance, governance and business strategy. From there, my journey took me across the African continent through several leadership roles at Old Mutual Africa, culminating in my role as general manager: member solutions within the corporate business in South Africa. Those years gave me invaluable exposure to diverse markets, customer needs and the role financial services can play in driving both economic participation and resilience.
Since joining Momentum in 2017, I have had the opportunity to lead businesses across multiple markets, first as COO of Momentum Metropolitan’s African and Asian operations, then as CEO of Momentum Metropolitan Africa, before taking on the role of CEO of Momentum Corporate in 2019.
More recently, I was appointed as an executive director on the Momentum Group and Momentum Metropolitan Life boards. Throughout this journey, I have remained focused on expanding access to financial solutions, driving innovation through digital transformation and ensuring that as our industry evolves, we remain deeply centred on the human experience and the real needs of the people we serve.
What has had the biggest impact on your career? What did you learn from the experience?
Working and living in countries outside of South Africa has been the most impactful experience in my career. I had a short stint in London, followed by long-term secondments to Eswatini and Kenya. Experiencing various work styles and societies helped me realise how valuing culture significantly enhances both team and business performance.
An appreciation for the power that comes with having diverse teams. These were end-to-end businesses where one got to interact with a variety of stakeholders including government, regulators and shareholders. Learning to drive innovation and deliver impact with efficient use of available capacity and resources was key. Most importantly, knowing how to be a “visitor” is important. Seek to understand the environment you are in rather than making it change to suit you.
Momentum Corporate is refreshing its brand narrative. What business realities made this the right moment to redefine how you show up for employers and their people?
Businesses today operate in a complex environment defined by economic pressure, changing workforce expectations, rising healthcare concerns and a growing demand for meaningful support across every life stage. Employees want employers who genuinely understand their realities and provide employee benefit solutions that help them navigate life with confidence. Employers, in turn, look for strategic partners who can help them attract, retain and support talent in a human way.This was the right moment because Momentum Corporate has evolved significantly. Our offering today is broader, more integrated and more responsive to workplace challenges.
Importantly, this is not simply a marketing exercise or a visual refresh. It is about sharpening our relevance in the market and ensuring that how we communicate matches the impact we are delivering through our solutions, advice and service experience. The refreshed narrative allows us to show up with greater clarity, confidence and consistency across every touchpoint.
Please outline how Momentum Corporate’s transformation will help people on their journeys to success.
Our transformation reflects a profound focus on financial inclusion and accessibility. We are continuously removing barriers to cover, improving access to relevant solutions and designing benefits that reflect South Africa’s diverse workforce. Success is not a once-off outcome; it is a journey changing over time. People need different forms of support at different moments.
Our role is to partner with employers and financial advisers to create environments where employees feel empowered, protected and equipped to make progress – whether building wealth, protecting families or preparing for retirement. Transformation is about creating meaningful impact on people’s lives and helping businesses build healthier, more engaged workforces.
What are the success criteria for Momentum Corporate’s new brand narrative, and how will you assess its value?
Success is ultimately about relevance, impact and trust. The new narrative must strengthen how employers, financial advisers and employees experience Momentum Corporate. From a business perspective, success means deeper client partnerships, stronger advocacy, improved engagement and sustained growth. Behind those metrics are human outcomes. We want employees to feel more supported and financially resilient, while employers experience healthier, more productive workforces.
We will measure this through client retention, adviser feedback, product adoption and brand perception. The real test of this is whether it strengthens the connection between our purpose – to build and protect our client’s financial dreams, our solutions and the evolving needs of the market.
What internal shifts will anchor your brand overhaul?
A meaningful external brand evolution must be supported internally. Culturally, we are focusing on collaboration, agility and responsiveness to ensure our service remains impactful. Strategically, we are deepening our focus on client-obsession, unreasonable excellence and collaborative thinking – moving beyond siloed products towards integrated solutions spanning financial wellness, healthcare access and long-term resilience. Structurally, we are evolving how teams work together to create a seamless experience for clients and advisers. We are strengthening the foundations that made us successful while building the mindset needed for the future.
What are the most urgent pressures facing South African employers today and how is Momentum Corporate reshaping its offering to meet those pressures head on?
South African employers operate under economic uncertainty, rising operational costs, talent volatility and increasing pressure to support employee wellbeing with constrained resources. Financial stress, healthcare gaps and inadequate retirement provision directly damage workforce productivity and retention.
Momentum Corporate is reshaping its offering by focusing on integrated, flexible solutions that help employers respond to these realities holistically. We place a major emphasis on partnership – helping employers navigate complexity through practical, scalable insights and advice that build more resilient workforces and sustainable long-term outcomes.
Our offering today is broader, more integrated and responsive to workplace challenges.
And for employees?
Employees face pressure from the rising cost of living, financial insecurity and healthcare, leading to heightened vulnerability. Concurrently, employee expectations are shifting; people want benefits that feel relevant and support them throughout their life journeys. Our approach centres on building and rolling out tools that enable employees to tailor financial solutions to their needs. This is reflected in our employee benefits marketplace, the Product Shop, a platform that empowers employees to flex their benefits as their lives evolve. This ensures improved access to protection, supports financial wellbeing and helps employees prepare confidently for the future.
How do you help employers see employee benefits as a tool for resilience, retention and productivity?
Our role is to make the connection between employee wellbeing and business outcomes visible and measurable. Through data and insights, we show businesses where targeted interventions create meaningful value. We recognise that employers need solutions that are practical and sustainable within current economic constraints. That is why flexibility, relevance and measurable impact are central to our design. Businesses that invest meaningfully in their people are better positioned to attract talent, retain institutional knowledge and sustain long-term performance. Reframed correctly, employee benefits become a strategic lever for competitiveness.
Businesses today face rising costs, talent volatility and productivity challenges. How does Momentum Corporate design benefit solutions that respond to these pressures?
Our approach helps employers balance affordability with meaningful impact. This requires flexible, scalable and integrated offerings that allow employers to tailor benefits effectively to their workforce dynamics. We place greater emphasis on preventative and long-term wellbeing interventions, particularly in financial wellness, healthcare access and retirement outcomes.
In a competitive talent environment, employees look beyond salary alone to assess whether an organisation genuinely supports their future security. Our comprehensive solutions, such as pension-backed home loans, Hello Doctor, Family Protector, Retirement Benefit Counsellors and Momentum Emergency Savings are designed to help employers strengthen their employee value proposition in a way that is both sustainable and commercially relevant.
What does it mean to build benefits that are “fit for purpose” in a country where workforces are more diverse and stressed than ever – and where unemployment is rife?
Building fit-for-purpose benefits in South Africa requires a deep understanding of our unique social and economic realities. A one-size-fits-all approach fails in a country characterised by wide income disparities, evolving demographics and financial vulnerability. These solutions are accessible, inclusive and adaptable. It means recognising that employees experience life differently depending on age, income, family structure and health status; and designing benefits that respond to that diversity.
We drive financial literacy and inclusion by translating actuarial complexity into practical value, whether through improving access to protection, supporting baseline financial resilience or helping employees navigate their choices to prepare for retirement with confidence.
Please share an example where Momentum Corporate’s approach changed outcomes for a client’s workforce.
A notable example is our work with Woolworths to make employee benefits more accessible. Historically, many employees could not access comprehensive benefits due to cost and complexity. Woolworths aimed to extend relevant protection to those previously underserved. This was not a product-led conversation; it started with a workforce challenge. Our role was to design an inclusive benefits model that was commercially viable, practical to implement and genuinely meaningful.
The outcome extended access to healthcare, protection and financial wellness support to a far wider employee base, demonstrating how employee benefits can be a powerful lever for large-scale financial inclusion and resilience.
How do you translate your philosophy of “business realities and its people into actual service, product and experience design?
It starts with recognising that behind every policy, claim or contribution is a person navigating real-life circumstances. While our industry is naturally complex from an actuarial and regulatory perspective, the client and employee experience should not feel overwhelmed. We design solutions around lived realities rather than products in isolation. We simplify wherever possible. Clients want clarity, ease of engagement and reduced friction.
Whether through our digital tools, financial advisers or administrative processes, the objective is to ensure that employees receive clear, understandable guidance that enhances financial literacy. The complexity must sit behind the scenes; our responsibility is to translate it into experiences that feel intuitive and genuinely supportive.
What role does digital innovation play in employee benefits?
Digital innovation is vital to creating responsive, human-centred experiences. Technology enables us to engage employees directly, simplify interactions and remove traditional barriers to access. Importantly, digital innovation allows for greater personalisation, which has been vividly demonstrated by the immense uplift we have seen in digital engagement following the implementation of the Two-Pot retirement system.
This surge in system access has unlocked relevant employee data, directly enabling members to proactively exercise individual choice, improve their financial literacy, check their savings pockets and seamlessly update vital beneficiary nominations. Technology should enhance, not replace, human connection. For us, digital tools are enablers that help us create simpler, more inclusive experiences for employers, financial advisers and employees.
What does the next generation of employee benefits look like? How do you position itself to lead that evolution?
Employees increasingly expect benefits that are flexible, relevant and connected to their broader life needs, not only protection in moments of crises, but continuous support across financial wellness, healthcare, retirement readiness and overall resilience. At Momentum Corporate, we are already actively delivering on this shift through our innovative Product Shop.
By partnering closely with employers and financial advisers, we co-create flexible solution ecosystems that address day-to-day realities, ensuring every employee is fully supported on their unique journey to success. Leadership is about understanding where the world of work is going and responding with agility and empathy, ensuring solutions remain accessible and commercially sustainable.
For businesses looking for a partner who understands both their pressures and people, what makes Momentum Corporate the right home?
We combine deep industry expertise with a strong understanding of the actual realities shaping South African businesses and employees. What differentiates us is our ability to look beyond products in isolation and focus on the broader ecosystem of workforce wellbeing, resilience and long-term value creation. We partner with employers, financial advisers and employees to build solutions that are practical and responsive to real-world challenges. We bring together innovation, strong advisory partnerships, service excellence and a human-centred approach to help businesses navigate complexity while supporting the ultimate success of their people.
What is your objective for the new Momentum Corporate?
We want to strengthen our position as a trusted partner that helps businesses and their people navigate uncertainty with greater confidence and resilience. That means continuing to innovate, improving accessibility and inclusivity, and delivering solutions that create meaningful value across the employee benefits ecosystem. Importantly, ambition is not simply growth for growth’s sake. It is about building a business that delivers measurable impact on people’s lives while helping employers create healthier, more sustainable and more productive organisations.
