South African short-term insurer, Santam, has appointed Nico Conradie as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Santam Re, the insurer’s independent non-life treaty reinsurer, effective March 1st, 2026.
He takes over the role from Kush Padia, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Santam Re, who had acted as interim CEO while the insurer continued its search for an executive head for the business unit.
Padia will return to his permanent position as CFO of Santam Re from the beginning of March.
Most recently, Conradie served as CEO of global reinsurer Munich Re’s Africa branch. He is an industry veteran with over three decades of reinsurance experience, having held senior leadership roles in re/insurance globally.
In the past, Conradie served as Executive Manager for Life and General Manager of Life at Munich Re. He was also the Managing Director of Hannover Life Re Africa.
Tavaziva Madzinga, CEO, Santam Group, stated, “Conradie was joining the company at an exciting time in its history. Thanks to Kush for stepping in and ensuring Santam Re was well managed during his time at the helm.
“Nico brings a wealth of experience that will greatly assist in the attainment of our FutureFit 2030 strategy. We look forward to his contribution as Santam Re continues to successfully provide reinsurance solutions for emerging and developed markets.”
Last week, Santam was granted a licence to establish a reinsurance branch office in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India’s first operational greenfield smart city and International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
