JOHANNESBURG – Insurance giant, Old Mutual is to fire chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Moyo after suspending him last month over conflict of interest.
It said on Tuesday its board had given Moyo a “notice of termination of employment” and will “shortly” start the process to find his replacement.
Chief operations officer, Iain Williamson who assumed the role of acting CEO last month, will continue in the position, Old Mutual noted.
Moyo was suspended to pave way for investigations into conflict involving his investment firm NMT Capital.
The investigation found a breach of dividend payments of R115 million, of which the benefit to Moyo’s NMT was about R31m, according to Old Mutual.
“The board came to the conclusion that there was a material breakdown in trust and confidence,” it said.
Old Mutual’s shares rose as much as 2,3 percent 22,19 rand in Johannesburg after announcement of the resolution to fire Moyo.
When Moyo was appointed CEO in 2017, Old Mutual set up a protocol regarding an earlier R291million investment made by the insurer in Moyo’s NMT.
The company, founded by Moyo and two others, has investments in construction, energy and financial services.
Old Mutual’s board felt that the relationship had “become unmanageable and untenable” as they tried to effectively navigate through appropriate disclosure and conflict-of-interest policies, chairperson Trevor Manuel said on May 25.
