GCI has appointed Paula Berrow as Head of Growth for GCI Wealth, with a mandate to grow the division’s footprint. Berrow has worked in the financial services industry since 1985, and has held leadership roles in sales, training and new business development for blue-chip companies.

“My new role at GCI is a return to my real passion, which is growth in general and sales in particular. GCI is a great fit for me because it’s so entrepreneurial in spirit. In particular, its succession plan for wealth managers/ financial planners is really impressive and has the potential to change the industry radically, I believe,” she says. 

Alex Cook, CEO of GCI, explains that GCI’s succession plan is intended to address a key challenge for the industry: how to enable independent wealth managers and financial planners to realise the true value of their businesses as opposed to the industry-standard of three times their annual revenue. 

“The three times revenue model does not deliver a capital sum substantial enough to reproduce the financial planner’s pre-retirement income, and it also does not guarantee seamless service delivery to clients,” Cook says. “Our model works because it hinges on ensuring the clients remain at the centre of everything. The reputation of the retiring advisor is protected, as is his or her income for life.”

Berrow says that GCI’s goal of helping 150 000 South Africans achieve financial stability and a secure retirement by 2025 resonates with her. “To make this a reality, we need to expand our reach dramatically, so I have already initiated an aggressive campaign to recruit more financial planners and wealth managers, both individuals and small practices, to join our team,” she says. “The more wealth managers and advisors we have, the more people we can touch.”

“Paula brings an enormous amount of experience and commitment to the team, which will accelerate the company’s trajectory towards changing the face of retirement,” Cook says.