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FINANCE MONTHLY CEO AWARDS 2014


AFRICA


Holdings Limited Q Q


What do you look for in your successor?


He or she must be authentic and their own person. They must do even greater things than me and not be a mirror of the current Chief Executive.


What advice do you give to rising CEOs?


They must consider it an inordinate privilege to lead. They must lead with a sense of humility yet lead with clarity and confidence. However, no matter how confident, the way to prevent arrogance is to always have a measure of self-doubt and to regularly ask the question: “What if I am wrong?”


It is also critical to be alert to the impulses and messages coming from the environment – whether that be the micro environment of the business or the macro environments of the financial services sector (in our case), the business world as a whole and, indeed, the global socio- political environment in its entirety.


Q


Do you admire another CEO or a leader (current or


historical)? Why?


I try to learn from everyone because everyone has something to teach you.


Q Q


How do you manage organisational


politics, and


conflicting personalities, interests, and views?


I accept that they exist and always strive to elevate the conversation to the highest common intent and interest and away from a narrow self-interest.


How do you balance and manage


stakeholders’ interests?


It is important to spend time to understand the interests of all your stakeholders: in our case, that includes clients, employees, communities,


shareholders, regulators,


government, suppliers and the media. It is important to drill down the company’s higher purpose so that it positively impacts all stakeholders: it is part of my personal approach to commit genuinely to lead in a way that they all experience a positive impact.


Q


How do you describe your leadership style?


I believe my leadership style to be authentic (that means people can trust you), clear, engaging and inspirational. It is critical that you have the courage of your convictions: the clarity that comes with that allows people to follow that lead and give discretionary effort in the same direction.


Q


How do you compete in a global


business environment? various


Alexander Forbes is a global business and as such is more than aware of its environment: it is not static and has to be critically self-reflective and remain adaptable and open to the dynamics of a changing world. We are always prepared for change and to hone our differentiators. Two such differentiators are our client- centred Higher Purpose and, indeed, our SERVE model as described above under Question 2.


Q


How do you compete in a recession?


In a recession, it is even more important to have clarity of strategic intent as Alexander Forbes has had since 2010, following a determined set of strategic goals and focus areas, to which we ruthlessly allocate resources in order to execute them single- mindedly.


Q


How do you see the future of your industry?


The retirement fund and investment industries - more than ever before – have a crucial role to play in developing economies, where savings cultures are relatively undeveloped and provision for retirement largely inadequate. They have a further vital role in fostering partnership with sector regulators such


as the Financial Services Board (FSB) in order to forge innovative sector-wide initiatives such as those suggested by our pioneering Benefits Barometer and Ready Set Retire programmes.


Q


What advice would you give to policy makers to help the economy and your business?


I believe policy makers should remain mindful that policy prescriptions must effect meaningful and sustainable change on all sectors of society. The challenge in all policymaking is to avoid short-term political expediency and understand the often invisible and unintended consequences of poor policy decisions. It is about having a longer term societal view and engaging the private sector and citizens in finding sustainable solutions.


Q Can you please share any


life or personal lessons that other CEOs might relate to?


The position of Group Chief Executive is a lonely role, which is all the more reason why you must realise you need to remain connected to the people whom you lead. You must furthermore remain mindful of the impact you have on all your stakeholders.


We are all people and therefore connect through our humanity.


So rather lead


mindfully and make the most of the privilege that is this extraordinary joyride.’


Alexander Forbes, 115 West Street, Sandown | P O Box 787240, Sandton, 2146, South Africa Website: www.alexanderforbes.co.za


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