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(Corrects 1st paragraph to 2021 not 2020)
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 10 (Reuters) - South Africa’s biggest health insurer Discovery said on Thursday Barry Hore would step down as chief executive officer of Discovery Bank and would be replaced by the head of its local business, Hylton Kallner, from Jan. 1, 2021.
Over the past five years, Hore has led the building of the digital bank from the ground up, culminating in a public launch in 2019 and a migration of all Discovery card accounts from FirstRand Bank Limited to Discovery Bank.
“His unique combination of deep banking and technology experience has been instrumental in establishing a strong operational capability and cutting-edge digital customer proposition,” Discovery Group Chief Executive Adrian Gore said.
Reflecting on his time as CEO of Discovery Bank, Hore said he felt confident “that I am able to leave at this point, having built the strong foundations of a uniquely disruptive banking capability.”
Discovery’s digital bank, a challenger to traditional banks, adapts its insurance model to lending and savings by tying interest rates to customer behaviour.
It now has 500,000 accounts and 5 billion rand ($333 million) in retail deposits.
Kallner, the CEO of Discovery’s South Africa businesses, will step down from various subsidiary boards but will retain his role as chair of the Discovery South Africa executive committee to enable him to leverage assets across the group, Gore said.
“His understanding of Discovery’s shared-value business model, along with his extensive experience at Discovery Group spanning nearly 25 years, position him well to drive continued growth and success for Discovery Bank,” Gore added.
