Tobie van Heerden joins as Chief Executive Officer, adding firepower to an executive team that was beefed up in April with the appointment of Chief Operating Officer Caroline Naylor-Renn, Tobie’s fellow graduate of INSEAD, the leading global business school.
10X Chairman Henk Beets said the new duo would complement a strong, established team that had “not missed a beat” as they had continued to build on a strong growth trajectory at the business after the departure of 10X’s founder, Steven Nathan, in January.
“10X has been in good hands through this transition,” said Beets. “Clients can rest assured that the company will continue to provide simple, transparent services and products that deliver industry-beating performance at a low cost.”
Van Heerden, an actuary, joins from Ninety One (formerly Investec Asset Management), where he was head of the Middle East and SE Asia regions for the past 10 years. Prior to moving to Asia, he was head of their South African Institutional Business.
“I am excited to be back in South Africa, swimming against the tide of recent emigrations,” said Van Heerden, adding that he hoped to use the experience he had gained out of the country over the last decade to help make wealth creation more accessible and attainable for South Africans.
He joins Naylor-Renn, who also brings significant international experience to 10X, which is majority owned by Old Mutual Private Equity and DiGame Africa, together with the management team.
Originally from the UK, Naylor-Renn has fulfilled various operational and IT leadership roles at leading life insurance companies and asset management firms across the globe, including implementing digital investment platforms in 10 countries for HSBC Bank.
Naylor-Renn, who spent the last five years building the INN8 platform for independent financial advisers, said: “I am very pleased to take on this new and exciting challenge, and delighted I get to stay on in this wonderful country.”
She added: “I am particularly thrilled to have joined the 10X team just as the company has started to really build momentum for a big step-change."
Chairman Beets said: “The new CEO and COO, who bring a wealth of international experience, will be tasked with opening up new avenues and building new relationships as 10X continues its strong growth trajectory.
“With various new products scheduled for launch in the near future, 10X is well-positioned to take even greater advantage of the global shift of investor savings from actively managed funds into the passive or index-tracking space.”
Van Heerden said: “I am honoured to have been asked by the board of 10X to lead this exciting business into its next chapter of growth.
“10X have been early adopters of technology, which provides an excellent platform to disrupt the current savings and wealth management regime in South Africa. We will continue to disrupt and build on this as we push ourselves to provide quality investment solutions that are easily accessible in the most cost-effective way.”
