When asked how long they’ve been in a job, only an actuary will provide an exact answer down to the hour.
Adrian Burke (pictured), who recently took on the role of acting chief executive at the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA), attended his first media conference in this capacity on 5 March.
The association, which represents the interests of the country’s asset managers, collective investment scheme management companies, linked investment service providers, multi-managers, and life insurance companies, announced Burke’s appointment earlier this year.
At Tuesday’s media conference, Burke was part of a panel that unpacked the findings of a research report titled “Association for Savings and Investment: A five-year transformation journey (2018 to 2022)”.
Read: Financial sector transformation: progress, but challenges remain
During his opening remarks, Burke focused attendees’ attention on ASISA’s role and mission.
“I think it’s important to emphasise that ASISA’s role is working with stakeholders to do what’s in the best interest of a savings and investment environment. I am specifically saying ‘environment’ and not ‘industry’ because this is not about doing what’s right for the member companies at the cost of everybody else. It’s about improving the savings and investment environment for all stakeholders and encouraging a culture of savings,” said Burke.
He added that members are entrusted with looking after about R9 trillion of customers’ savings.
“And again, I want to emphasise that it is not the money of the institutions. ASISA’s members are the custodians of the money. The money belongs to the customers, the retirees, those who are saving, and it’s important to understand that it’s their money and does not belong to the life insurers and asset managers.”
Burke, a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), is backed by a nearly 40-year career in the long-term insurance industry with a specific expertise in life insurance. During his time at Southern Life (which subsequently merged with Momentum) and Old Mutual, he served in several senior leadership roles related to the development, management, and valuation of retail and corporate life insurance.
After retiring from Old Mutual in November 2020, he continued to serve on the board of Old Mutual Botswana and as a trustee of the Old Mutual Foundation.
Burke shared that between then and now he stayed active in the industry with volunteer work for ASSA and some contract work. Then he received a call from ASISA “out of the blue” to step in temporarily while the board searched for a new chief executive.
Burke said that having enormous respect for what ASISA has achieved over the years, he felt a sense of duty to step up.
“If you try, as an individual corporate, to deal with all the stakeholders, such as government, the various regulators, and community organisations, you are likely to struggle to make headway. However, where you come together as a team and work towards common goals as a unit, you are far more likely to achieve results. Where there has been common ground, ASISA has been successful.”
After about a week on the job, Burke remarked that the various projects that in which ASISA is involved are extensive and complex.
“I can’t even pretend that I have a deep understanding of all the topics and the detailed technical work that’s taking place. So, for me coming in, the main thing was talking to the people, getting to know what’s working, what’s not working, and where is the potential to make things better. The main thing is to create the environment where people can get on to do what they need to do, effectively.”
That was his first task.
“And then it’s a case of wanting to see what value I can add in other ways.”
In December last year, ASISA announced that Busisa Jiya would be vacating the CEO position, by mutual agreement, at the end of 2023 “to pursue other opportunities”. His resignation came less than two years after he joined ASISA as chief executive on 1 February 2022, following the retirement of Leon Campher.
When Burke’s appointment as acting CEO was announced, ASISA chairman Anton Pillay stated that the board’s focus was to find a new chief executive. He noted the board expected this process to take a couple of months to ensure it found the right candidate.
Burke’s contract runs until the end of June. Asked whether he would consider staying on longer if needed, Burke said it was open to discussion.
“I have no intention of dropping ASISA or anybody else.”
When questioned about his goals or plans for ASISA during his tenure, Burke said that due to the short timeframe, he could not delve into long-term strategies or detailed plans.
“The strategy is set. I do think there is a role in making sure that there is clarity of direction. Clarity and space to do what the ASISA personnel need to do and need to do properly and have confidence that they’ll be supported.”
And for those who are wondering, Burke’s response was that he had been in the job for 130 hours.
