Board of Directors

 

Dr. Keith Jefferis
Board  Chairman,  BIHL GROUP

The BIHL Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Keith Jefferis. He is joining the board as a non-executive director and a chairperson effective 11 July 2023. Dr Jefferis is a seasoned economist who has worked closely with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank and has amassed over 44 years’ experience in the fields of economics and financial services.

Dr Jefferis brings to the board a wide range of experience in terms of research & analysis, financial industrial policy development and economic policy issues. He has written extensively on economic issues in Botswana and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and has played a key role in deepening the public understanding of economic issues in through teaching, writing and public speaking

Robert Dommisse
BIHL Board member, BIFM Board member and BIFM UT Board member

 

Mr Dommisse is a Chartered Accountant with more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is currently the Chief Executive of the life insurance vertical within Sanlam Pan Africa, consisting of 23 life insurance businesses and a number of asset management and associated credit businesses across the African continent.

Mr. Dommisse holds, amongst others, a Master of Business Administration (cum laude), a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) (cum laude) and a Bachelor of Accounting (Honours), all from the University of Stellenbosch. Mr. Dommisse is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Financial Planning Institute (FPI)

Catherine Lesetedi 
BIHL CEO

Catherine Lesetedi is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL), appointed in March, 2016. Catherine first joined the BIHL Group in June 1992 as a Supervisor. She was subsequently promoted twice during her period with the Group to Assistant Manager in 1998 and then Divisional Manager in 2000.

She left BLIL and joined AON Botswana as Senior Accounts Executive in October 2004 and was promoted two years later to General Manager of Life and Employee Benefits.

In 2007, she returned to BLIL as Head of Corporate and High Value Business until March 2010 when she was appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer of the company until she was appointed to the substantive position in July 2010, she held this position for a period until February 2017 when she was appointed to her current position. Catherine currently serves on the Boards of Funeral Services Group Limited, Bifm Unit Trusts, Botswana Insurance Company Limited, Nico Life, Nico Pensions Company and Nico Holdings.

She holds a BA in Statistics and Demography (University of Botswana), MDP from the graduate school of business (University of Cape Town,
as well as professional qualifications in Advanced Insurance Practice and a Diploma in Insurance Studies (UNISA). She has undertaken the Sanlam Executive Leadership Programme through the Gordon Institute of Business Science (July 2014). Catherine is also an Associate of the Insurance Institute of South Africa (AIISA).

Lieutenant General Tebogo Carter Masire
Board Member

Lieutenant General Tebogo Carter Masire was appointed as an independent Non- Executive Director on 21 August 2015. Lieutenant General Masire
is the former Commander of the Botswana Defence Force and retired from the military in July 2012 after 5 (five) years as the Chief of the Defence Force. He holds a Diploma and BSc from Troy State University and an MBA from University of Southern Queensland Australia.

He is one of the founding members of the SADC Standing Aviation Committee and also a founding Board member of the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) Lieutenant General Masire is the Chairman of Air Botswana Board, Stockbrokers Botswana Board and THC Foundation. He is a member of the Presidential Task Team Vision 2036 and Patron of Botswana Sports Foundation Trust.

John Hinchliffe
Chairman, BIFM

John Hinchliffe heads John Hinchliffe Consultants, an accounting and consulting practice in Gaborone. He was appointed to the BIHL Board on 01 June 2010.

He is also a Director of various other companies, including Development Securities (Pty) Limited; Nsenya (Pty) Limited; Portion 84 Mokolodi Sanctuary (Pty) Limited; Mokolodi Utilities (Pty) Limited; Kalahari Conservation Society; and Camphill Community Trust.

Mr. Hinchliffe began his career as an accountant at Coopers and Lybrand in London, before being seconded to the firm’s Botswana office in 1982. Thereafter, he worked for two other Botswana companies before establishing his own consultancy in Gaborone. He then joined DCDM Botswana as Managing Director before re-establishing his consulting firm in 2005.

He is the Chairman of the Board of Botswana Investment Fund Management (BIFM) and was recently appointed to the Board of Botswana Insurance Company Limited (BIC), where he is also Chair of the Audit Committee. He has a BA (Econ) Honours degree from Manchester University and he is a Fellow of the Botswana Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) as well as being a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Kudakwashe Mukushi

Group Chief Financial Officer

Kudakwashe Mukushi joined the BIHL Group in 2013 as the CFO of Botswana Life Insurance Limited and was promoted to the position of Group CFO at the BIHL Group in April 2017. He has over 18 years of experience across various industry sectors including Banking, Reinsurance, Pension Funds, Life Insurance and Retail & Energy Sectors. He represents the BIHL Group on various Boards and Board Committees in investee companies. Mr. Mukushi is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charter holder, one of approximately 20 in Botswana, and a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA).

Kobus Vlok 

Mr. Kobus Vlok has been appointed to the Botswana Life Insurance Limited Board, effective 14 June 2019. Mr. Vlok is Sanlam’s Emerging Markets Chief Executive of Distribution Support and has held this position since January 2019. Mr. Vlok’s role includes providing Life Distribution to all the Africa businesses in the SEM cluster. 

A seasoned insurance and investments executive, Mr. Vlok has over 25 years experience of heading distribution channels and divisions in the South African financial services industry. He has served on the Boards of public and private companies in Life Insurance, Linked Investments and Unit Trusts, Health Insurance, Home Loans, Distribution Services and Brokerage businesses in various capacities such as Executive Director, Non-Executive Director and Chairperson. 

Mr. Vlok has previously worked for MCIS Insurance Berhad (Sanlam Life Insurance company in Malaysia) as a Chief Executive Officer. His responsibilities included being accountable for the daily functioning and sustainability of the Life Insurance and Investments public company. In addition to this, Mr. Vlok has worked for Sanlam Personal Finance as a Chief Executive of SPF Distribution. This involved responsibilities such as managing the distribution of all middle and affluent retail products in the Sanlam Group and spearheading its Investment Management Services. Mr. Vlok was also at one point the Executive Director of Sage Life Ltd as well as the Senior Personal Research Officer of Standard Bank Group South Africa. 

With a strong business acumen and impressive leadership skills, his qualifications comprise of a Bachelor of Commerce from the University Of Pretoria,  an MBL in Strategic Planning & Business Leadership  from the University of South Africa, and a Post Graduate and Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from the University of Free State. Mr Vlok’s hobbies include nature conservation, social golf and photography. He is a proud member of the Harley Davidson Owners Group.

 

Andrew Willis Cartwright

Mr. Andrew Willis Cartwright has been appointed to the Botswana Life Insurance Limited Board, effective 28 May 2019. He received his Bachelor of Business Science Honours degree from the University of Cape Town. He successively advanced onto the Senior Management Program at the University of Stellenbosch and the Old Mutual Leadership Program from the London Business School respectively. To add to his credentials, he attained professional qualifications from the Financial Planning Institute (South Africa). He has also received Fellowships from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (UK) and from the Actuarial Society of South Africa, as well as the Institute of Actuaries in India.

He is a valued and highly experienced member of the finance sector, having served in various industry and professional bodies in South Africa and India. His longstanding and influential career at Old Mutual began as a Corporate Planning Assistant. He continued to add value and insight to the organization through the various roles he has performed since; from his tenure as a Product Development Actuary where he was responsible for new product development and support for the Retail “Middle Income” segment, to his position Customer Solutions Executive where he was responsible for finance, customer offering new Initiatives and risk management. During his tenure as Chief Operating Officer for Old Mutual - Group Schemes, Mr. Cartwright held a wide range of responsibilities including risk management, IT, and client services. He was appointed General Manager of Protection Solutions at Old Mutual before retiring from the corporate world in 2015.

Currently, Mr Cartwright continues to contribute and add value to the communities around him by assisting the next generation of visionaries in through volunteering in LEAP Science and Math Schools, as well as assisting in an insurance start-up.

 

 Mr. Edwin Elias

The BIHL Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Edwin Elias. He is joining the board as a non-executive director.

Mr. Elias is a Metallurgical Engineer by profession with at least 20 years of experience within the Mining Industry. He holds an Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) from the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management, Toronto, Canada; a Bachelor of Science (Bsc) – Metallurgical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, USA and an Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) Certification from the London Business School, London, UK. He is also a member of the IODSA (Institute of Directors in South Africa) and a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum (CIM). Overall Mr. Elias is a strategic and visionary leader who is highly energetic, task and people oriented executive leader, who has the ability to lead, direct and build high performing teams.

Mr. Mustafa Sachak

The BIHL Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Mustafa Sachak. He is joining the board as a non-executive director.

Mr. Sachak has over 37 years of work experience in the engineering and financial services industries including the management and operational leadership of publicly listed regional conglomerates. He has championed expansion of struggling businesses in very difficult environments resulting in growth, profitability and market leading position. Mr. Sachak holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from University College London, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University and a Master of Business Administration from Florida International University.