Entrepreneur
Darfoor on taking the reins at Alexander Forbes
Andrew Darfoor says Alexander Forbes is already a strong brand across Africa and one of his main priorities will be to increase its share of earnings from the rest of Africa above today’s 6%
Unlike his predecessor, Andrew Darfoor, the new head of Alexander Forbes, does not indulge in lofty talk of "higher purpose" or "thought leadership". Darfoor, who hails from Ghana, has also taken "cross sell" out of the Forbes lexicon, a radical shift as this was its main growth plank."There are a million customers in the group, mostly members of our pension funds," says Darfoor. "It might seem logical to sell retail products into this pool, but they might have these products already and we have to accept they have a choice."Darfoor says it is essential to build up a client base entirely separate from the existing pool. He does not rule out setting up an agency force to do this.Darfoor was born into a diplomatic family that moved frequently at the request of his father’s employer, the UN. He was schooled in England, and attended Queen Mary College at the University of London, where he received a BSc in economics. He later pursued an MBA at the Cranfield School of Management, also in...
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