- Britam Holdings Board of Directors has appointed Lofti Baccouche of Capgemini Invent in the UK as an Independent Non- executive Director.
- The appointment is subject to the Insurance Regulatory Authority’s approval amidst a low insurance penetration in the country.
- Lotfi is a financial services executive with solid experience in both developed and emerging markets with over 35 years of experience in finance, insurance and risk management.
Britam Holdings Board of Directors has appointed United Kingdom’s Lofti Baccouche the Vice President – Insurance practice lead in Capgemini Invent in the UK as an Independent Non- executive Director.
The appointment is subject to the Insurance Regulatory Authority’s approval amidst a low insurance penetration in the country.
Lotfi is a financial services executive with solid experience in both developed and emerging markets with over 35 years of experience in finance, insurance and risk management. He has wide experience in multiple countries across Africa, Europe, Middle east and Australia.
“Over the years, Lotfi has held multiple managerial and leadership roles in various multinational companies. These include risk practice-insurance lead in Accenture Strategy and Consulting, Partner and Insurance lead in Parker Fitzgerald and the Co-founder & CEO of an insurtech start-up and Verge360,” said Kuria Muchiru, Chairman Britam Holdings.
Muchiru says some of his notable projects include an ambitious and bold multi-year technology-based transformation at a global P&C insurer, a risk-based strategy to manage the persistently low interest rate environment by investing in alternative and illiquid assets for a number of Life insurers, and a tactical implementation of an operational resilience strengthening plan, including the consideration of Environmental, Social & Governance factors, at a composite insurer.
He has also served on various Boards during the span of his career. He holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Industrial and Operations Engineering from University of Michigan and a Master of Science (MSc) in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University.
“The Board is pleased to welcome Lotfi to the Britam Holdings PLC Board. His proven leadership experience and in-depth business and financial expertise at the helm of global companies will bring added value to our Board,” Muchiru added.
The moves comes as the company gets back to profitability amidst staff restructuring and boardroom shake up having slashed the number of directors from 19 to 11 and having three CEOs since Benson Wairegi left three years ago.
Following Wairegi’s exit, Tavaziva Madzinga was appointed as CEO of the firm but left after 10 months. Charles Njuguna replaced him on an interim basis before the firm finally settled on former CIC Insurance boss Tom Gitogo as the new Managing Director.
Britam Half Year 2022 Performance
Britam Holdings posted a 77 percent increase in net profit to hit Sh667.5 million for the half-year period ending June 30, 2022 from Sh376 million posted in a similar period last year .
The dramatic increase is attributed to a drop in operating costs that went down by 22 percent to Sh3.8 billion and rising investment income that hit Sh6.2 billion, a 26.0 percent growth compared to Sh4.9 billion recorded in the previous financial year.
“The growth in investment income was driven mainly by the continuing shift of the Group’s investment strategy that has seen the listed financial services firm continue to pursue a re-allocation of its investments portfolio favoring stabilization and growth of yields.
“We managed to grow revenues by focusing on improving customer experience while leveraging strategic partnerships across different sectors including banks and telcos to drive scale and grow our customer base. We are confident that this strategy will be key in delivering growth across all markets,” said Chairman Muchiru.
In the recent past, the firm has launched different products that include a travel insurance product for upcountry passengers where the firm covers Sh50,000 accident and medical expenses, Sh15,000 on ambulance services and Sh200,000 on death and disability to passengers who buy tickets through Voltic booking platform.
Britam has partnered with online ticket company Voltic Kenya and bus companies ENA Coach, Dreamline, Tahmeed and Randa to offer the micro – insurance product on ticket sales.
