Old Mutual Emerging Markets (OMEM) has appointed Joel Baepi as Director of Governance, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, effective February 1.

Baepi, who is currently Old Mutual’s Chief Legal Adviser, will also join the OMEM Executive Committee.
He will continue to head up both the Legal and Corporate Secretariat functions.

Ralph Mupita, OMEM CEO, said the business has a unique opportunity to create a unified governance, regulatory and corporate affairs cluster at OMEM level.

“We are proud to appoint Joel to this new role and wish him all the best. Given his strong skills and wealth of expertise, we are confident that Old Mutual is well-positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities that the constantly changing environment brings,” he said.

Before joining Old Mutual in 2011, Baepi was a Director at General Motors, where he advised the board and executive committee on compliance and regulatory issues.

Prior to this, he held various positions including directorships at Cliffe Dekker and Bowman Gilfillan, with responsibilities ranging from overseeing commercial agreements to leading due diligence investigations and advising on BEE financing transactions.

Commenting on his new role, Baepi said: “I look forward to continue our work to strongly position Old Mutual with regulators and stakeholders. This is a time of great change, transformation and possibility - and we are gearing ourselves to maximise our potential in the markets where we operate.”