Q & A with Themba Baloyi, Discovery Insure Executive

1. How long have you been with Discovery Insure?

I have been with Discovery Insure since its inception. I first mentioned the idea to Discovery CEO Adrian Gore in 2003 and he encouraged me to pursue it. I started focusing my attention on the concept from September 2006. After having worked on it for two years with Discovery Executive Director, Barry Swartzberg, who guided me through the process, I received invaluable feedback on the best way to implement the idea and offer it sufficient opportunity to launch. So I went back to the drawing board to further refine the concept and business plan for Discovery Insure. It took more than four years of hard work from start to getting Discovery Insure launched, in May 2011.

2.Would you classify these years as having defined your career and your strengths as an insurance executive?

Certainly, having spent more than four years working on the Discovery Insure concept defined my career as an insurance executive, and revealed my strengths in this industry. It was a period of reckoning in many ways than I can fully describe. There were many times of despair and frustration as we worked on the technical mechanics of the business idea and dealing with the challenge of convincing the Discovery Limited Board that this was a brilliant business opportunity to pursue, and one which would add value and disrupt the short-term insurance market.

During these years, I also learnt about the powerful traits that successful, resilient people have and use to their advantage. Physically, I know what it is like to train and prepare for the Comrades Marathon, having trained for and completed 11 Comrades Marathon events to date. However, in the world of business, getting this business idea off the ground was like running the Comrades Marathon every day. It certainly was an exhausting experience, but the thrill of visualising the finishing line was that more exciting; and even when the chips were down, it was the fuel of that vision that kept me focused and on track. I believe the lessons I learnt as a marathon runner gave me the tools I needed to endure and persevere with the Discovery Insure concept, and helped me to cut my teeth as an insurance executive in a competitive environment that nurtures innovation.

3.Which company did you work for before joining Discovery Insure, and what were your responsibilities?

I joined Discovery in 2001 and before working on the Discovery Insure concept, I had a few roles within the company. I worked in the Discovery Health, Vitality, Life and Corporate Services within the Discovery Group.

Prior to joining Discovery in 2001, I worked for Rubico Consulting Services where I led a team that was responsible for the design of accounting processes and client management systems. Some of my employment history includes working for two companies, Siemens Ltd and Durban Metro Waste Water Services where I was responsible for the budgeting and commercial accounting systems.

4.Would you say your move to Discovery Insure has exposed you to greater challenges and responsibilities, including that of handling the welfare of a workforce of your division’s magnitude?

Yes, it has definitely exposed me to greater challenges and responsibilities. It has been a great time of wonderful growth opportunities for myself and my colleagues in the Discovery Insure team.

5.What are your responsibilities in your current job and what do you enjoy about it?

As someone working at a strategic level, I am responsible for all board matters, which includes managing how Discovery Insure interacts with the rest of the Group: Health, Life, Invest, Vitality and our other international businesses.

My role includes compliance monitoring, enterprise risk management and management of intellectual property which entails registering patents and trademarks in various jurisdictions. Furthermore, management and development of strategic partners forms part of my day-to-day responsibilities. I work with the board of directors, and take responsibility for ensuring that appropriate governance processes are in place. This means ensuring that every director in the business fulfils their fiduciary duties and that the business operates within the legal framework.

6. What has been the worst and tricky challenge you have ever had to deal with as Executive Director of Discovery Insure Internally or Externally?

The trickiest challenges I experience as an executive director involve dealing with business partners, especially when addressing matters that require quick responses. Cultural dimensions come into play during these interactions, and successful outcomes are a result of the ability to navigate those delicate complexities while endeavouring to get things done without stepping on people's toes.

7. Discovery Insure has grown from strength to strength overall during your rein as Executive Director and Anton Ossip as CEO, what would you say is your secret?

Anton Ossip and I work very well together; we have formed a strong bond that makes it very practical to get things done. Anton has the maturity to drive hard and let his team determine clear pathways. It takes confident leaders to create room for all parties to excel in their responsibilities. At the heart of this success is a simple philosophy that is deeply embedded in one of our eight core values, and that is the value of liberating the best in our people. At Discovery, there's a heavy focus on living these values and the results speak for themselves

8.Most senior executives join new companies with their own plans or strategies. When you joined Discovery Insure - did you have a strategy or game plan? And have you managed to implement it?

I was fortunate that Discovery Insure was born out of the foundational work developed over the initial four years prior to the launch. As a result, the majority of plans centering on Discovery Insure and their evolution was a natural process in which I took a lot of pleasure in driving and experiencing. The initial business plan has changed in many ways, however, the original framework for the business is fundamentally still in place.

9. The year 2012 had disasters that included the Mpumalanga floods, St Francis Bay Fires, hail storms in Gauteng (East and West Rand). Globally, we saw hurricane Sandy throw life out of gear in New York, cyclone Bopha ravaged the Philippines and left close to a thousand people dead, cyclone Nilam in Tamil Nadu, the Beijing flash floods, the Uttarakashi flash floods in all these disasters - the insurance sector pays out billions of dollars in claims. Do you foresee such a future trend as a result of, perhaps things like climate changes?

Global warming is a reality that we all have to factor in our lives. It has already started, and it will continue to result in extreme weather changes in the years ahead. The important thing for insurers is to find constructive and innovative ways to respond to these changes. Whenever there is a need or a problem, my view is that there will always be solutions for those deeply focused to finding answers to the challenges.

The Discovery Insure core product is a direct manifestation of that thinking, where the key question was to solve road crashes and fatalities. The result of this innovative approach is the use of telematics technology in combination with behavioural incentives to address road crashes, and which gave rise to our commitment to create a nation of safer drivers.

10.In the past 24 months, we have seen an increasing interest from the National Treasury and the FSB to regulate the insurance industry in a bid to protect the consumer and ensure fair treatment. What plans or instruments is Discovery Insure putting in place to ensure that its customers are treated fairly through the value chain?

We fully embrace the new legislation and we are fortunate to extract lessons from our sister companies in the group (PruHealth and PruProtect) that operate in the UK, which means that we are not embarking on these requirements for the first time. Discovery Insure has taken a view that Treating Customers Fairly should always be an embedded part of the business and to that end, we are working hard at ensuring that we are fully ready by the time the legislation comes into effect. Our culture and core values have already incorporated these principles and we are driving hard to ensure that all the other outcomes are also fully implemented.

11.What qualifications do you hold - your specialty?

I am a cost and management accountant by training, and I hold a Henley Executive MBA. In addition to this, I hold the following qualifications:

1999, Supervisory Management, Graduate Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT);

2002, Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators, South Africa;

2003, Discovery Leadership Academy, Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS);

2004, Leadership Advancement Programme University of Cape Town- Graduate School of Business (UCT/ GSB).

12.Fast forward 5 years from 2014, where do you see yourself?

In five years' time from 2014, I envision myself doing greater things than I am doing now, innovating a lot more and making a positive change in people's lives.

13What other Board memberships do you hold other than that of Discovery Insure?

I am a board member of the Henley Business School Academic Board; South African Insurance Association (SAIA); and the South African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB). In 2003 I co-founded the Black Insurance Professionals of Southern Africa (BIPSA)

14.What passion do you see yourself pursuing in life after Discovery Insure (say, in retirement)?

I see myself continuing to contribute to creating a better society through building businesses

and creating a pool of young entrepreneurs to impact our society for the better. I believe that this is critical for our country's future economic growth and stability.

Thank you for your time Sir.We wish you and Discovery Insure all the best in 2014!