Just shy of 13 years ago, Schalk Malan, Suzanne Stevens, and Sean Hanlon gave up executive jobs at Discovery Holdings to launch an insurance startup. This week their business, now SA’s preferred life insurance company for independent financial advisors, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bellville-based giant Sanlam. Alec Hogg of BizNews asked CEO Schalk Malan the obvious - and not such apparent questions. For his part, Malan reckons access to Sanlam’s large capital base will accelerate Brightrock’s impressive growth trajectory. This suggests that competitors, like the Brightrock trio’s former employer Discovery, best pay attention.
