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Metropolitan loses rainmakers

Johannesburg - The R30bn merger between financial services groups Metropolitan and Momentum has claimed its first major casualties, after it emerged that two senior managers left Metropolitan in the last seven days.

The merger, which will create South Africa's third-largest insurer, had already raised a number of strategic issues around brand positioning and location of key staff. Metropolitan is based in Cape Town, while Momentum's head office is in Pretoria.
 
Since the transaction was announced in June there have been murmurs of discontent and uncertainty on the Metropolitan side, as employees tried to decide whether this was a true merger or in fact a takeover.
 
John Melville, CEO of Metropolitan employee benefits, has jumped ship to join short-term insurer Santam while Jannie Venter, head of marketing and business development at Metropolitan Life, has also left.
 
According to the office of Santam CEO Ian Kirk, Melville will take up his role as executive head of risk services on December 1.
 
Melville has been an experienced player at Metropolitan, having joined the insurer in 1994. In 2006 he led Metropolitan's successful bid for the administration of the Transnet Retirement Fund. He was appointed CEO of Metropolitan's corporate business unit in 2008, before taking over the employee benefits business in July 2008.

A phone call to Venter's office by Fin24.com elicited that he had "already left the company last week".
 
Metropolitan financial director Preston Speckmann declined to comment on the moves, referring Fin24.com's enquiries to group CEO Wilhelm van Zyl as he was "closer to the transaction". Van Zyl was unavailable for comment.

Momentum declined to comment, directing all enquiries back to Metropolitan.
 
These departures could be a sign of a further shake-out of key staff, particularly on the asset management side where there remains lack of clarity on how Metropolitan Asset Managers and the FirstRand-owned RMB Asset will function side by side.
 
FirstRand is the majority shareholder in the unlisted Momentum.  
 
By Tuesday midday, Metropolitan was trading up 5c (0.3%) at 1 646c per share while the financial services sector was flat.
 
 - Fin24.com

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