Iain Williamson, chief executive officer of Old Mutual Ltd., speaks during the Future of Finance 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa, on Thursday, June 1, 2023. South Africa is the world’s 14th-biggest producer of greenhouse-gas emissions and relies on fossil fuels to generate the bulk of its electricity. Photographer: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 17 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Old Mutual Ltd said on Monday that Iain Williamson will take early retirement and step down as chief executive officer and executive director of the firm on August 31 after five years at the helm of the insurer.

“He will leave Old Mutual a stronger, more resilient and more innovative company that is ideally positioned to grow and thrive into the future,” the company said in a statement, adding that the board has started the process to identify a new CEO.

Williamson has spent 32 years with the Old Mutual Group, the last five as CEO.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)