ZEP-RE (PTA Reinsurance Company) has announced the appointment of Mrs. Hope Murera as the new Managing Director with effect from January 1, 2017. Mrs. Murera will replace Mr. Rajni Varia who has been at the helm of the company since 2008.
Confirming the appointment, ZEP-RE Board Chairman Mr. William Erio said the decision to have Mrs. Murera succeed Mr. Rajni was approved at the Company’s 25th Annual General Meeting held in Mombasa, Kenya on 27th May 2016.
“The Board is very pleased to welcome Mrs. Murera to her new role with her able expertise, knowledge and experience having been with ZEP-RE since 2002. The Board equally appreciates what Mr. Rajni has achieved for ZEP-RE for the period he has served the company as Chief Executive,” the Chairman said.
Mr. Rajni oversaw the achievement of impressive milestones during his eight (8) year tenure including the growth of the company’s gross written premium from USD38M when he took over to a projected USD140m in 2016 and growth in shareholders’ funds by eight fold to a projected USD200m by end of 2016. The company also recorded profits cumulatively for the last eight years and total assets have also growth from a value of USD53m in 2004 to a projected USD340 at the end of 2016.
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“Mr. Rajni has also been involved in supporting clients across Africa and the Indian Sub- continent through risk surveying, structuring and advising reinsurance programmes and training young and seasoned insurance practitioners. Indeed, the industry has benefited immensely from his contributions and we are all indebted to him,” Mr Erio said.
The outgoing CEO expressed satisfaction with the role he had played at ZEP-RE and exuded full confidence in his successor.
The chairman disclosed that Mr. Rajni will continue to engage with ZEP-RE on a part time consulting basis. He will among other things be involved in realizing the dreams of our recently launched ZEP-RE Academy.
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The incoming CEO is a qualified lawyer by training from Makerere University and armed with an MBA from IMD International, Switzerland, and over 20 years of expertise in insurance business. Mrs. Murera brings an innovative business approach towards driving ZEP-RE’s growth across Africa. She served as Managing Director of Sonarwa Rwanda for 8 years and also sat on the board of ZEP-RE before joining the company 14 years ago.
“I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to head ZEP-RE. I am happy to lead an experienced and motivated team to further expand the ZEP-RE brand across Africa and beyond. I look forward to developing and implementing the ZEP-RE strategy and lead the company towards the next phase of its growth. We have a fantastic market place, a superb customer value proposition and a determined and experienced team to realize our goals. It promises to be exciting years ahead of us”, said Mrs. Murera.
