Ex-Sanlam exec appointed CIO at Ashburton Investments

Patrice Rassou, the former head of equities at Sanlam Investment Managers, has been appointed chief investment officer at Asburton Investments, the asset management arm of FirstRand. The appointment is effective from April 2020. 

This is a new role created to coordinate the various investment management activities of the FirstRand Group, according to a statement issued on Friday afternoon. 

Mary Vilakazi, FirstRand COO, described the appointment as a "coup". 

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"To attract an investment professional of Patrice’s calibre is a coup for us. It demonstrates how serious we are about building a competitive and innovative asset management business."

Before joining Sanlam in 2006, Rassou worked at Thesele Group, Old Mutual Asset Management and PwC. He holds an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MBA with distinction from Manchester Business School, and is a chartered accountant. 

Earlier in October, Ashburton appointed Sizwe Nxedlana as its new CEO. 

Compiled by Marelise van der Merwe