EXPERIENCE IS
EVERYTHING

The minds behind the modern mutual

PPS Mutual’s board of Directors and management team brings a wealth of global experience and specialist sector expertise to the company.

Michael Pillemer

Chief Executive | Member of the Board and management team

Michael was the founder and CEO of Centric Wealth and founding Managing Director of Investec Private Advisers.

Brian Pillemer

Director of Distribution | Member of the Board and management team

Former CFO of Westpac Financial Services. Brian was also co-founder of Australian Life Insurance of which he was a Director and the Head of Distribution.

Matthew Pilcher

Director of Proposition | Member of the Board and management team

Formerly Head of Client Solutions responsible for Business Development, Portfolio Management and Product & Pricing at Munich Re Australasia.

Zalman Ratzemore

Chief Financial Officer | Member of management team

Finance Director of UIB Holding Ltd in the UK. Various senior financial roles in Australia including Perpetual Ltd and BT Financial Group.

Marcello Bertasso

Head of Underwriting & Claims Management | Member of management team

Formerly National Underwriting Manager at Macquarie Life. Previously Head of Underwriting at AMP and prior to that Head of Client Markets and Chief Underwriter at Swiss Re Life and Health South Africa.

Mike Jackson

Non executive Chairman | Member of the Board

Mike Jackson was Group CEO of PPS Insurance (South Africa) from 2003 until his retirement in July 2016. Prior to his role as CEO, Mike was also the Chairman of the Life Offices’ Association (LOA).

In addition he has held the position of Managing Director of Charter Life and he served on the boards of Simeka, Ermitage UK, Hightree UK and Kagiso Trust. He further previously served on the Liberty Main Board, as the Executive Director of Insurance Operations, as well as the boards of Liberty Asset Management, Liberty Collective Investments and Liberty Healthcare. In 2013, Mike was elected as a board member of International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) where he served until his retirement in July 2016.

Izak Smit

Non executive Director | Member of the Board

Izak Smit is the CEO of PPS. His experience in the financial services sector include positions as Head of Actuarial at ABSA Life, then Head of Risk and Capital Management after which he was promoted to Managing Executive at ABSA Life.

Werner Bosman

Non executive Director | Member of the Board

Werner Bosman is a Chartered Accountant by profession. He joined PPS Short-Term Insurance in South Africa as Chief Operations Officer in 2017 and was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer in 2018. Werner has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining PPS Short-Term Insurance, Werner worked at Barclays Africa.