1. Issue 37 (2 of 2015)
Official journal of the
Financial Planning Institute
of Southern Africa
2. 10
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done,
his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves," – Lao Tzu
At the Institute we would like our missionary leaders to be known and in this issue
we caught up with former FPI board member, Andrew Bradley, CFP®
, and current
board member, Denver Fortuin, CFP®
. We take a deeper look at their thoughts
on leadership and their contribution to moving our profession forward.
Member
Profile
Both CFP®
professionals’ interviews were conducted by Mandisa
Magwaza, Value Proposition Consultant at the Financial Planning
Institute.
Want to share feedback on the profiles? Interested in being featured
on our next issue? Write to us at communities@fpi.co.za.
4. 14
Denver
Fortuin, CFP®
Executive Director: Risk and Compliance, Unisa
Which career achievement is
significant to you so far?
My current role as the executive director:
risk and compliance at Unisa is the
highlight for me. The university had a
vision of pioneering a compliance function,
and I was recruited to set it up. After a
year has passed since my appointment
as director: compliance, I was promoted
to my current position and now have the
added responsibility for enterprise risk
management and sustainability.
This is a compliment to me as Unisa was
the first higher education institution to
introduce a compliance function ensuring
as an institution it meets all its legislative
Denver
Fortuin
and regulatory requirements. I also
appreciated that my employer recognised
my potential and expressed confidence in
me to excel in what I was appointed to do
and by involving me in other key projects.
What has this meant for
your personal growth?
I believe that career growth should mirror
personal development otherwise there is no
real progression. The personal growth has
meant exposure. My exposure previously
was limited to the financial services
industry so when the opportunity arrived to
expand my horison to the higher education
sphere I took a leap as it presented an
exciting new challenge. For me to operate
in my new environment, it was necessary
to acquire new skills that inevitably lead to
personal development.
What prompted you to want
to become a board member
of the Financial Planning
Institute (FPI)?
I view myself as a mission member who
believes in the purpose of the Institute
and the importance of advancing our
profession. I saw the advertisement that
was released to all members, calling for
nominations. I felt it was the right time and
opportunity to offer my skills, commitment
and time to serving my professional
community.
5. 15
I applied and just like all shortlisted candidates
I was interviewed by the former chairperson
Prem Govender, CFP®
. I was very grateful to
receive the news of my appointment as a non-
executive director of FPI.
Naturally as a board member one is tasked or
has the responsibility of facilitating the overall
direction and strategy of the organisation while
developing a governance system.
What I am also looking forward to is being
part of the robust discussions on how FPI
plans to grow membership. I strongly feel
that membership is the lifeblood of any
membership organisation. The other key
focus is member retention and reinforcing
membership value as well recruitment of
new members.
Tell us one specific
insight that will inform
the endeavour you just
mentioned?
One thing I can attest to, from my
experience being a part of a service
industry, is that service delivery is critical to
the person on the receiving end. People
who pay for a service have an inherent
expectation of valuable service. I hope to
channel everything I’ve learned from serving
in similar professional bodies to grow our
profession further.
Having said that, the other issue I want to
include on the agenda is sharpening the way we
communicate to our members. We need to tap
into the fundamental practices of communication
science so that our key messages to members
are intellectually fascinating, received on time,
understood, accepted, relevant and sent within
balanced intervals.
What benefit do you derive
from your association with
different member bodies?
Personal growth. By belonging to the various
member bodies, I want to serve and also
grow personally. It is definitely a reciprocal
relationship, as I bring in my skills and share
my insights with fellow board members, I
also learn a lot through my engagements
with them.
The other major benefit is growing and
shaping the profession. For example in
my tenure at the Compliance Institute of
Southern Africa (CISA) and I facilitated
collaboration between the Institute and
Unisa’s Graduate School of Business
Leadership (GSBL) that resulted in an
occupational qualification being offered,
by the GSBL, to compliance officers or
those who want to enter into the profession.
The course will ensure that compliance
officers are properly trained and equipped
to deal with the demands of their work. In
a nutshell, identifying a critical need in the
industry and being proactive in fulfilling that
need is what’s gratifying for me.
What attributes does a non-
executive director need to
possess to enable him or her
to fulfil their role?
One needs to have the appropriate
qualifications. The appropriate qualifications
depend on where you wish to serve. Having
more than the appropriate qualification
also serves one well especially if they are
transferable. For example, my Postgraduate
Degree in Financial Planning and Advanced
Postgraduate Diploma in Financial
Planning served me well at FPI.
The corporate governance and compliance
management qualification is relevant to the
role I play at the Compliance Institute of
Southern Africa plus my Masters in Business
Leadership which is generic enables me to
sit at almost any board and provide input.
Being a good listener is an important
personal trait to have. Often one is tempted
to be heard and to pre-empt what will be
said. As a board member, you are expected
to listen as the executives or management
team present their reports on how they
are effectively implementing the strategy.
Listening becomes useful and important
as one is able to understand what is being
presented to them and also able to ask
informed questions.
Lastly is the skill to challenge; this does
not mean being brash or confrontational.
Ultimately as the board we are responsible
for governance and at times need to
interrogate whatever is being reported.
6. 16
Management can sometimes tell you what
they think you want to hear, and it is for this
reason that the board must be objective and
read more than what is provided in
the report.
Please share your opinions
on the legislation facing our
industry?
We sometimes view regulation in a negative
and punitive way, however, some legislation
has its merits. It is overregulation that should
be cautioned and lobbied. For example,
when FAIS was introduced there were a
lot of fears and prediction of negative
consequences. During these times of
uncertainty is where FPI's advocacy work
has been consistent. Institutes like FPI also
assist members to navigate and apply the
legislation.
As a strategy expert what
learnings can you share
when it comes to strategy
formulation and execution?
Often I have observed that when it comes
to strategy formulation organisations do not
plan enough. Critical and divergent thinking
should be embedded into the planning
process as well as environmental scanning
as this will affect the sustainability of the
organisation. The other let down is that too
often people fall into group thinking; this
happens because of strong personalities in
the team being headstrong about their point
of view, usually excluding others.
In terms of strategy execution, the
organisation must have a visionary and
competent leader to drive strategy otherwise
all the great planning would be in vain.
Which leaders do you look up
to and what is it about them
that fascinates you?
I admire a type of leadership style rather
than individuals. Servant leadership is
the type of leadership style that I admire;
leading through serving others and setting
an example. It is through serving that you
are elevated to become a leader.
Which life experience has
taught you the biggest
lesson?
When I was so much younger, I was an
impatient person, I guess it is the driver
in me. Looking back, the failures I have
experienced (personally and professionally)
have been due to my impatience and need
for instant gratification.
I have worked on these weaknesses so that
I strike a balance between wanting to make
things happen and letting things happen.
This does not mean that one should adopt a
laid back approach to things but rather have
the wisdom to know when to be proactive
and when to allow circumstances to unfold.
If you had not chosen the
current career path what
would you be doing?
I would be a full-time mentor or life coach.
I would want to help people make a success
of their lives looking at the individual
holistically, delving in all facets of their life.
I like seeing people develop and knowing
that I have contributed to their growth makes
me happy. So I am quite curious to see how
the group of compliance students which I
am lecturing will advance in their careers.
How do you strike that work-
life balance, if it exists for
you?
I don’t think there’s a balance for me. My
energies are unevenly dedicated on a daily
basis. Depending on the crisis that may
arise, my time and energy will be focused
on that. So some days, work will require
more of my time, causing my personal life
to suffer some neglect, but there is always
calm after the storm, which allows me to
give my personal life the attention it needs.
