Risk and resilience headline the 2025 Elite Wealth Conference

The 2025 Elite Wealth Conference took place in Cape Town and online on 26 June, with the assistance of CN&CO Events.

Tarina Vlok, Managing Director at conference host Elite Risk Acceptances, opened the event by welcoming attendees in person and online. She reminded the audience that the themes of leadership, ethics, governance and resilience were not abstract concepts, but everyday practices.

“These are not just ideas,” she said. “They are to be lived every day by each one of us.”

Tarina introduced the conference theme, Navigating uncertainty: the new rules for risk and resilience, as a direct response to the volatility shaping global and local landscapes.

“Political polarisation and conflict lead to economic uncertainties, escalating trade tensions and projected worldwide declining growth,” she said. At the same time, she pointed to opportunities for insurers willing to evolve: “If we want to be an insurer that’s sustainable and that can go into the future, we need to put our customers at the centre of absolutely everything we do.”

She laid out key priorities for the industry, including digital transformation, trust, collaboration and talent.

“We simply have to become customer obsessed,” she said. “We need to deliver on customer expectations with clarity, simplicity and certainty.”

Charles Nortje, Managing Director of Old Mutual Insure, was next up. He opened his address by reaffirming the purpose of the Elite offering, which was designed to serve asset-rich, time-poor clients who value personalised broker-led advice.

“If you’re the sort of client who likes to buy insurance direct, then Elite is not for you,” he said. “We pride ourselves on our broker network. Without brokers, we don’t have any Elite business.”

He thanked brokers for their continued partnership and acknowledged their crucial role in delivering tailored service throughout the insurance journey.

Testing events

Reflecting on the past few years, Charles described the succession of events that had tested the insurance industry – from COVID-19 to the 2021 KZN riots, the 2022 floods and ongoing global climate disasters.

“The cost of reinsurance really spiked up,” he said, adding that some global reinsurers now view South Africa as high risk. As a result, insurers were forced to increase premiums to ensure sustainability.

“At the start of 2022, our models said the price should be 100, but we were only getting 82. That wasn’t sustainable,” he explained.

While the pricing gap has since closed, he cautioned that rate increases would still apply selectively, based on claims history.

He also touched on the impact of climate change and the shrinking scope of cover available to clients.

“Our policies have become quite restrictive  -on infectious diseases, power surges, cyber,” Charles said. “We don’t want to end up with insurance policies that are full of exclusions and not useful to clients.”

He stressed the need for partnership with policyholders, who also have a role to play in managing their risks. He added that Old Mutual Insure is engaging with Sasria on ways to close protection gaps and explore how government and private insurers can work together more effectively.

Looking ahead, Charles spoke about ongoing investment in technology to improve the claims experience.

“We want the claims process to be simpler, cheaper, faster and more efficient,” he said.

Concluding on a positive note, he reflected on Old Mutual’s 180-year history and its continued commitment to clients:

“We’re proud of our brand. It stands for something. And we’ll keep working hard to meet your expectations.”

International keynote speaker, facilitator and author, Siphiwe Moyo, followed Charles. He opened his talk with a simple but pressing question: how do we lead ourselves and others through change?

In the face of a complex and uncertain environment faced by individuals and organisations alike, he said, “We’re used to certainty. We want predictability, order, stability. But the world we live in is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous – it’s real VUCA.”

Rather than dwelling on external factors, he urged guests to focus on what they can control: “You can either look out the window and blame the economy, or you can look in the mirror and ask what you’re going to do.”

His core message centred on psychological capital, which he described as a measurable, teachable concept made up of hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience. On cultivating hope, he suggested breaking complex goals into manageable steps and communicating them in a way that inspires: “There’s a reason why Dr Martin Luther King didn’t say ‘I have a pie chart’. He said, ‘I have a dream’.” Celebrating small wins and identifying multiple pathways to achieve goals are also key to keeping people motivated and hopeful.

When it comes to resilience, Siphiwe encouraged facing reality honestly and remembering past successes: “If we could survive that, surely we can survive this.”

He reminded the audience that resilience is less about perfection and more about making a plan: “You maak ‘n plan, you improvise. That’s what we do.”

He warned against waiting passively for ideal conditions or someone else to solve the problem, urging attendees instead to take action, no matter how small: “Maybe you are the someone who must do something.”

Siphiwe closed by speaking about optimism, using the three Ps – permanence, prevalence and personalisation – as lenses to view adversity. He stressed the importance of perspective, saying, “You are not a bad farmer just because there’s no rain.” Instead of generalising or personalising setbacks, he encouraged choosing a more constructive interpretation.

His final message was grounded and empowering: “Whether we wallow in self-pity or use the tools we have to cultivate a little bit of hope and resilience… it’s in our hands.”

Grief, resilience, leadership and trust

Siphiwe’s talk was followed by a moving conversation between a couple of esteemed South Africans – Thuli Madonsela and her stepson Justin Foxton. The conference took place just days after Thuli’s life partner Richard “Dick” Foxton (Justin’s father) passed away. Theirs was a candid and moving conversation about grief, resilience, leadership and trust.

“On Friday, my permanent life partner and I spoke as I was getting on a flight from Amsterdam,” said Thuli. “His last words to me were, ‘Goodbye, darling’. Exactly 24 hours later, I received the call to say, ‘Mr Foxton is no more’.”

Thuli invited Justin to join her in conversation, reshaping the session to reflect both the day’s theme – navigating uncertainty – and their own recent experience. They spoke about how trust, in both personal relationships and professional life, can help people move through unpredictable times.

“Ours is not the first generation to face uncertainty,” said Thuli. “What we’re seeing now is a flare-up. And when that happens, trust becomes a critical currency, not just between governments and citizens, but in businesses, families and communities.”

Justin, who runs The Peace Agency, reflected on his father’s outlook: “He was a man of resilience and great hope. Even when the odds were stacked against him, he showed up with belief and generosity. We wanted to share some of what we’ve learnt from him – about how people, especially in business, can lead with purpose and ethics.”

He recalled a story from a Springbok game at Twickenham in 2001: “We had no chance. I think we ended up with nine players on the field and got beaten 67–0. But my dad had still put a hundred quid on the Boks. He said, ‘I’m going to support my boys to the last.’ That was him in a nutshell.”

The conversation touched on the erosion of trust in institutions, particularly in South Africa’s public sector. Thuli noted that while the Constitution lays out clear ethical expectations for public servants, implementation remains inconsistent.

“There’s very little consequence management,” she said. “People see individuals with questionable ethics being appointed or promoted, and it undermines public confidence. The same applies in the private sector. When companies cut corners or act unfairly, trust breaks down and the impact spreads across society.”

Justin added that although some progress is being made in holding people accountable, there’s a long way to go. “We’re still dealing with the consequences of our past. But ethics and trust don’t start with institutions. They start with each of us; how we treat others, how we show up, whether or not we do the right thing when no one’s watching.”

The three Cs

Both speakers shared a practical approach to rebuilding trust, based on what they called the “three Cs”: connection, compassion and courage.

“So much of our interaction today happens online,” said Justin. “We need to return to real conversations – face to face, person to person. It takes courage, especially in tough times, but it’s essential.”

Thuli agreed: “You can’t build lasting relationships – business or personal –without connecting meaningfully, showing compassion and being brave enough to do the right thing, even when it’s not easy.”

Reflecting on Richard Foxton’s legacy, she said, “He connected people from all walks of life – CEOs and security guards, politicians and activists. He had this way of bringing people together that made you believe we could figure things out if we just sat down and talked.”

Their closing message to delegates was clear: trust isn’t built through slogans or strategy documents. It’s built through action, consistency and fairness – qualities that, they said, apply as much in the financial services sector as they do anywhere else.

“Every one of us can make a difference,” said Thuli. “You don’t need a title to lead. And you don’t need permission to do the right thing.”

Justin ended with a simple tribute: “Thank you, Thuli, for loving my dad. And thank you for reminding us that the work of building trust starts here, with us.”

Nicky Weimar, chief economist at Nedbank, closed off the proceedings with a snapshot of the state South Africa’s economy.

“The South African economy is doing better than most people would have anticipated,” she said, attributing this in part to a recovery in electricity supply and increased fixed investment, particularly in renewable energy and logistics. However, she cautioned that growth remains sluggish and is unlikely to reach the levels needed to address unemployment or inequality meaningfully.

The positives

She made mention of several positives, including a marked improvement in energy stability and logistics infrastructure, with Transnet showing early signs of reform.

“We’re seeing a lift in private sector confidence,” she noted, although she added that “this is happening despite government, not because of it.”

The country’s structural reforms, while moving in the right direction, still suffer from slow implementation and policy uncertainty.

Nicky pointed to global headwinds that could dampen South Africa’s momentum, including slowing growth in China, rising protectionism and geopolitical instability. Locally, she said the Government of National Unity (GNU) adds a layer of political complexity.

“If managed well, a GNU could bring greater policy coherence. But there’s a risk it could also lead to paralysis if parties prioritise political point-scoring over delivery.”

Despite the challenges, Nicky concluded with a note of cautious optimism. South Africa’s macroeconomic framework remains strong, inflation is broadly under control and there are green shoots in sectors like tourism, finance and agriculture.

“The reality is, we’re not booming, but we’re not in crisis either,” she said. “And that middle ground gives us room to work – if we use it wisely.”

The conference closed with a few lucky-draw prizes and a brief closing address from Nick Dempsey, Executive: On Platform Business Solutions at OMI.