Sygnia rehires Niki Giles as finance director

Sygnia, the asset manager cofounded by Magda Wierzycka, has rehired Niki Giles as its third finance chief in five months.

Giles’s reappointment comes three weeks after Wierzycka officially took charge of the company as CEO again after the sudden resignation of CEO David Hufton.

In a brief statement on Wednesday, Sygnia said Giles will assume her new role immediately. She held the same position from October 2015 to February 2017 before moving on to serve as its COO until 2018.

Her reappointment, alongside Wierzycka, marks the return of the old guard.

“Remember one of the things we consider when investing or buying shares is the quality of management,” said Makwe Masilela, chief investment officer at Makwe Fund Managers.

“You will find that some of the founders are part of the management team, which means that indirectly you are buying into their vision. So it’s easy as a minority shareholder to pin your hopes and trust on them. They have a vision, but it doesn’t mean they are always correct.”

Sygnia lost several senior executives this year, including Murad Sirkot who resigned in January as CFO after three years in the position. Former Denel  finance chief Carmen Le Grange was initially announced as Sirkot’s successor before the U-turn in March when Sgynia said Le Grange could not assume the position due to “personal reasons”.

In March, Duane Naicker, who headed the firm’s umbrella retirement fund for almost seven years, resigned.

“The board of directors has the fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of all shareholders to appoint the best executive management team, which will include the CEO and CFO of any company,” said Asief Mohamed,  chief investment officer at Aeon Investment Management.

“In general, of concern at any company, is the high staff turnover — more so of key individuals and key management, this may be a red flag for investors.”

Sygnia, founded in 2006 and listed on the JSE in 2015, is majority owned by Wierzycka through her family trust, which holds 60% of its shares.

Before returning to the top job on May 1, Wierzycka served as Sygnia’s executive chair from June 2021 after she made an unexpected return to the company following stepping down as Hufton’s co-CEO. When her return as executive chair was announced, Hufton was sole CEO, though Wierzycka insisted at the time her return would not undermine his leadership.

“Virtually all my wealth is tied up in Sygnia ... and I couldn’t let go,” she says. “I tried to let someone else be the custodian of my wealth and I couldn’t let go. It’s not like I’m going to find a replacement for myself,” she told Business Day in April.

 Sygnia’s share price, which ended the trading session 4% weaker at R16.50 on the JSE, more than doubled over the past three years.

With Garth Theunissen

mahlangua@businesslive.co.za