<!-- wp:paragraph --><p><em><strong>Mntungwa Morojele, whose appointment is seen as a ‘declaration of independence’ by the group, brings a wealth of experience to the role. In other news, Zakiyya Cassimjee has recently risen to the role of Chief Information Officer.</strong></em></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><em>The Financial Services Exchange (Pty) Ltd – T/A Astute</em>, the industry-managed data exchange that enables the financial services industry, has appointed a new Chairman to the board, effective 1 July 2021.<strong> Mntungwa Morojele</strong> has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director to the Astute board and will also serve as Chairman of the board and member of the Audit &amp; Risk and Human Resources Board Committees. </p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>‘As an industry-managed entity our declaration of independence is confirmed with the appointment of Mntungwa,’ explains group CEO Jacques Rossouw. ‘I’m looking forward to his leadership and guidance to the board and the management team of Astute as we enter a new strategic direction of truly enabling open-finance.’</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --><h3><strong>‘Something new to the table’</strong></h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Mntungwa is an Independent Non-Executive director of Stor-Age Reit where he also serves on the Audit &amp; Risk and Remuneration Committees. He is an Independent Non-Executive director of Capital Eye Investments (previously the UCS Group) and he chaired their Audit &amp; Risk and Remuneration Committees. He previously served as an Independent Non – Executive Director at Spur Corporation.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Mntungwa has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, a Master’s in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG Lesotho where he served his articles. ‘I am confident that my experience in other sectors will allow me to bring something new to the table,’ says Mntungwa. ‘And I couldn’t be more excited about working with Jacques and the rest of the team to steer Astute into the future.’</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --><h3><strong>Worth the wait</strong></h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Astute’s board started looking for a new chairman when it agreed to the resignation of chairman and non-executive director, Brett Matthew, at the end of August 2021. ‘Brett and I joined Astute at the same time in July 2014 and he was part of the turnaround process that put Astute onto a new strategic course. The board and I would like to thank Brett for the huge contribution he made,’ says Jacques.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>With over 160 direct integrations across insurance and banking in South Africa, Astute leverages economies of scale to drive down costs across the value chain and ultimately create value for the end-consumer. ‘The appointment of Mntungwa was a lengthy process and the board needed an independent person with extensive experience,’ explains Jacques. ‘I am convinced that we have found this in Mntungwa and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.’&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --><h3><strong>Changes to executive structure</strong></h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong>Zakiyya Cassimjee </strong>(previously Executive: Projects and Operations) was appointed Chief Information Officer after Charl Theron left Astute at the end of May 2021 to pursue other interests. <strong>Elmarie McColl </strong>joined the Executive team in January 2021 as Executive: Products and Client Services. ‘Both Zakiyya and Elmarie have proved themselves exceptionally capable over the years and their appointments are thoroughly deserved.’ says Jacques. ‘It really is an exciting time to be at Astute!</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:columns {"verticalAlignment":null} --><div class="wp-block-columns"><!-- wp:column {"verticalAlignment":"center"} --><div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center"><!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":146565,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} --><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium"><img src="https://cover.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Elmarie-photo1-289x300.png" alt="" class="wp-image-146565"/><figcaption><strong>Elmarie McColl</strong></figcaption></figure></div><!-- /wp:image --></div><!-- /wp:column --><!-- wp:column {"verticalAlignment":"center"} --><div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center"><!-- wp:image {"align":"left","id":146566,"sizeSlug":"medium","linkDestination":"none"} --><div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-medium"><img src="https://cover.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Zakiyya-Cassimjee-294x300.png" alt="" class="wp-image-146566"/><figcaption><strong>Zakiyya Cassimjee</strong></figcaption></figure></div><!-- /wp:image --></div><!-- /wp:column --></div><!-- /wp:columns -->