Change in responsibilities of Discovery director Hylton Kallner

Discovery announced on Wednesday that Hylton Kallner, the current CEO of Discovery Life, will assume the role of CEO of Discovery's South African operations.

In the role, Kallner will lead the composite strategy for health, life, invest, insure, and vitality entities, and will oversee their integration with vitality and Discovery Bank.

Kallner will continue to chair the South African executive committee, which the company describes as "the core governance forum" in the country.

"Given the strategic importance of Discovery Bank, it will continue to report to the group CEO," according to a SENS statement.

As a result of the above change in executive responsibilities of Kallner, Riaan van Reenen, the current Discovery Life chief actuary, will assume the role of CEO and director of Discovery Life, subject to regulatory approval. Van Reenen has led the Discovery Life actuarial valuations team since its inception. He has also led the establishment of the actuarial functions for Group Risk, Discovery Invest and Vitality Life in the UK.

According to Discovery, these appointments are seen as an important step to create necessary focus to achieve the group's "ambition".