Bilal Adam CEO of Rand Mutual Life Assurance
Full Name: Bilal Adam
Position: Rand Mutual Life Assurance Ltd (RMA Life)
Main Activity of the Company: Life insurance
Date and Place of Birth: June 6, 1975, Durban
Education: CA(SA); Program for Leadership Development, Harvard Business School
First Job: Trainee accountant at Nedbank
Career History Prior to Current Position: Group CFO of Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) Group; group CFO of Regent Insurance Group: Group CFO; managing executive of ANVIL Financial Services; nonexecutive director of Regent Life Botswana, Regent Insurance Botswana, Lesotho National General Insurance Company, Lesotho National Life Assurance Company, and Cedar Employee Benefits; trustee of Regent Life Retirement Annuity Fund; and group audit executive of Premedia
Size of First Pay Packet: R6 500 (gross) a month on my first full-time job
First Job with Present Group: RMA group CFO
Value of Assets under Your Control: R5-billion under assets for RMA Life
Number of People under Your Leadership: About 60 direct reports, but the number is about 100 when including group functions that perform work for Rand Mutual Life
Management Style: An inclusive management style that encourages a collaborative way of working. Motivation and guidance are used to encourage staff to contribute their thoughts and ideas to the decision-making process
Personal Best Achievement: There have been many, but I have to say my family, my four children and seeing what lovely, well-balanced young, strong women they have grown up to become
Professional Best Achievement: My current position and doubling the value of the company in the last two-and-a-half years, despite a tough Covid-19 environment
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life: My parents – for instilling in me the values of hard work and integrity very early in my life
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Career: Two previous Group CEOs that I worked with at Imperial Holdings, Bill Lynch and Mark Lamberti
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: I would have loved to have spent a day having a very philosophical conversation with Nelson Mandela over a few cups of Rooibos tea
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Elon Musk
Philosophy of Life: Life is short, and we all have one life only, so make sure that you live life to its fullest
Biggest Ever Opportunity: My current position as CE of RMA Life
Biggest Ever Disappointment: There have not been many. If anything, I always see disappointments as a glass half full and an opportunity to learn from them
Hope for the Future: That South Africa truly reaches its full potential, where it can be a source of pride and progression for all its citizens – not just a few individuals
Favourite Reading: Any book with a great personality that I can learn from, or a wildlife book. I am currently reading Imtiaz Sooliman and the Gift of the Givers: A Mercy to All, by Shafiq Morton
Favourite TV Programme: Currently, it’s NCIS, but I mostly watch sport
Favourite Food/Drink: Sushi/Mocktails, but I never say no to desert!
Favourite Music: I listen to most music genres
Favourite Sport: I like most sports, with football, rugby and cricket being the three big ones
Favourite Website: For work it would be Business Day and personally any wildlife or travel website
Hobbies: Spending time in our beautiful African bush and travelling the world experiencing new cultures
Car: A Mercedes-Benz E-Class for myself, a Range Rover for my wife and a Land Rover Defender, which is my favourite – it is my bush vehicle and I use it to do trips in and around Southern Africa
Pets: A Dashund named Chloey and a German Shepard named Cruz, as well as a Persian cat named Pugsley
Miscellaneous Dislikes: People who disobey rules
Favourite Other South African Company: Capitec, for its innovation and changing the way banking works and costs in South Africa
Favourite Foreign Company: Amazon
Married: To Alison Adam, since February 18, 2005
Children: Ameera, 16; Liya, 15; Amani, 15; Zariya, 11
Clubs: I used to belong to a flying club and a birding club, but do not have the time anymore