A financially secure tomorrow demands bold leadership today. How do we, as leaders, collaborate to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and prosperous SA? This was the central question at the 2025 Old Mutual Thought Leaders Forum, hosted in Johannesburg on August 12 2025.
The day’s discussions underscored that SA’s future prosperity depends on the ability of leaders in business, government, and labour to act together with urgency. Whether the goal is to secure better retirement outcomes, lift national savings, embrace disruptive technologies, or build a more resilient workforce, the path forward requires co-ordinated leadership, shared accountability, and practical partnerships that turn policy into measurable progress.
The exclusive by-invitation-only gathering brought together about 100 C-suite decision makers, human capital executives, policymakers, regulators, and worker representatives. As a premier platform where influence meets insight, the forum tackled two of the most urgent issues facing SA today: the state of retirement savings and the shifting world of work.
Leadership lessons from Australia
Paul Watson, advisory board member at Allianz Retire+, offered Australia’s retirement journey as a lesson in how professional leadership and collaboration can turn reform into long-term success.
Australia’s world-class superannuation system was not the result of one piece of legislation, but of decades of industry, labour, and government working to a shared agenda. A critical turning point was the decision to move from voluntary to compulsory provision, ensuring that the vast majority of workers participated in the system.
Watson emphasised that this was not achieved overnight, but through sustained leadership and consensus-building. “Once you have the framework in place, you must take the next step, in our case, compulsion, to achieve full coverage,” he said.
For SA, Watson suggested that the next step is some level of auto-enrolment. “You cannot achieve broad-based coverage without it,” he said, pointing to global evidence that default participation and minimum contributions are essential to overcoming member apathy.
Watson also recalled the creation of SuperStream, a system that modernised fund administration and data transfers. The regulator set the deadline, but it was industry-led working groups including pension funds, administrators, custodians, asset managers, and union voices that designed and delivered the solution. “That is how you create momentum. It should be industry-led because if it is not, do not wait for it to be foisted on you.”
Moderator and award-winning journalist Bruce Whitfield noted that SA had already shown it could adopt effective international ideas. He recalled how former finance minister Pravin Gordhan drew on Australia’s retirement tax framework to introduce changes that improved the country’s own system.
The lesson for SA is clear. Just as Australia’s reforms required cross-sector commitment to succeed, so too will auto-enrolment. It will take the same mix of political will, industry expertise, and labour partnership to deliver a system that covers all workers and sustains itself over decades.
Two-Pot success: proof of collaborative impact
Astrid Ludin, deputy commissioner at the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, pointed to the Two-Pot Retirement System rollout as a working example of what multi-stakeholder leadership could achieve.
“The successful implementation was a collective effort. It modernised infrastructure with significant technology investment and increased member engagement. Everyone, even those who did not plan to withdraw, checked their savings pot. That level of awareness is a huge win,” she said.
The reform, she noted, is already prompting smaller funds to consolidate into larger structures, improving governance and efficiency.
Watson stressed that consolidation was not just about efficiency, but about building the scale needed to improve investment returns, reduce costs, and expand access to better services. “When you bring funds together, you unlock economies of scale that benefit every member. It is one of the fastest ways to improve outcomes without raising contribution rates,” he said.
Public-private partnerships to raise savings
These system-level shifts will be even more effective when paired with a broader economic strategy that channels capital and expertise into the parts of the economy that can deliver the greatest long-term impact.
One of the clearest outcomes of the forum was agreement that SA’s gross domestic savings rate, now about 15% of GDP, is far below the 25% or more typically achieved by faster-growing economies.
Adrian Saville, professor of Economics, Finance and Strategy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and founding director of Boundless World, argued that lifting this rate was the single most powerful lever for accelerating economic growth and building long-term social stability. “If we want faster growth in SA, we must save more, and if we want to save more, we have to put public and private capital to work in the same direction,” he said.
Saville emphasised that successful economies deliberately align public investment as a catalyst for private capital, and target labour-absorbing sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure so that growth translates into jobs. Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi reinforced the point, saying, “We have to join the dots between business, workers, and government, and all show up at the same table.”
Technology as a shared opportunity
This is the essence of public-private partnership: aligning policy, capital, and labour priorities to channel investment where it delivers both economic returns and inclusive growth. Technology will be an essential tool in making these partnerships productive, efficient, and scalable.
This was the view of Cadena Growth Partners CEO Valter Adão, who reframed artificial intelligence (AI) as a shared opportunity for economic growth. He argued that productivity gains from AI could help the country reach more people, open new markets, and create greater value, but only if leaders work together to harness it responsibly.
“We might not do things the same way, but our relevance grows,” Adão said. Younger South Africans are already showing what is possible. From predictive analytics in mining to digital microfinance in agriculture, rapid adoption of AI-driven solutions is proof that a collaborative mindset, where business invests, government enables, and workers adapt, can deliver fast, scalable impact.
People-first transformation
Colin Smith, executive: human resources at Northam Platinum, reminded delegates that technology adoption must start with people. “We need to take people first on this journey. The jobs do not go away; they change. AI helps us maintain equipment better, predict issues, and work more efficiently, but it starts with reskilling our people,” he said.
Absa’s managing executive for talent management and transitions KG Bako agreed. “We are making sure our digital transformation journey brings our people along, equipping them to thrive, not just adapt,” she said.
Both stressed that when business, labour, and government align on skills development, technology becomes a driver of inclusion rather than exclusion.
Employers as outcome shapers
Old Mutual Life and Savings CEO Prabashini Moodley underlined the influence employers have on national retirement outcomes. “Employers are positioned to shift outcomes at scale,” she said.
From contribution structures to preservation defaults, employer decisions can make the difference between workers retiring with dignity or facing hardship. But, she stressed, this requires alignment with policymakers and fund managers so that workplace policies reinforce national reform goals.
Eskom Pension and Provident Fund CEO Shafeeq Abrahams added that the sector must be more assertive in policy debates. “The industry has to start having a louder voice shaping these and enabling policymakers,” he said.
Six priorities for joint leadership
The forum’s debates coalesced into six priorities that only cross-sector leadership can deliver:
- Elevate savings and investments, embedding them in national economic planning alongside public-private partnerships and labour-absorbing sectors.
- Make outcomes the north star, using shared data and behavioural insights to track progress.
- Support consolidation to improve governance, efficiency, and inclusion.
- Advance auto-enrolment to expand coverage and strengthen adequacy.
- Invest in strategic partnerships that bridge business, labour, and government.
- Harness the digital revolution to personalise engagement and scale access to financial advice and planning.
Throughout the day, one theme was repeated. Leadership is not about waiting for mandates; it is about taking responsibility for outcomes.
Humphrey Mkwebu, acting MD at Old Mutual Corporate, captured the sentiment. “If we bring the industry together, we can define the road map, not wait for it. Leadership means taking responsibility for the outcome, working across divides, and making the changes that will protect the financial futures of millions of South Africans. This is the time to step forward.”
For more insights and to subscribe to the Old Mutual Corporate Mindspace Thought Leaders Forum publication, visit the Old Mutual website.
This article was sponsored by Old Mutual.
Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (SA) Ltd is a licensed FSP and Life Insurer.
