AVBOB has a new CEO

AVBOB has a new man at the top, Eugene Strauss, who previously worked at Absa as the CEO of its Life Insurance division.

Strauss succeeded Carl van der Riet on Tuesday, 4 August, who had been at the company’s helm since December 2019.

Van der Riet retired in August 2025, and AVBOB’s top spot had been in a transitional phase before Strauss took over.

AVBOB is the largest mutual assurance society in South Africa and on the continent, operating out of 350 branches across the country.

It was established in Bloemfontein in 1918, and currently insures 5.5 million lives in South Africa.

Strauss is now set to lead the insurance giant, stepping into the top job with more than two decades of experience under his belt.

He started his career as a financial manager at Rentmeester Assurance, after which he became a manager at Liberty, Standard Bank’s insurance arm.

He worked at Liberty for nearly three years, working his way up to Head of Finance and Data Support for the insurance giant’s Individual Life Operations.

In 2007, Strauss joined Absa Life, the Red Bank’s life insurance business, where he worked as a financial manager and, eventually, its CFO.

In November 2013, he became the CFO of Barclays Africa’s Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance cluster, following a merger with Absa that same year.

In 2019, Strauss took over as the CEO of Absa Life Insurance, a role he held for seven years before taking the helm at AVBOB.

On his first day as AVBOB CEO, Strauss addressed the company’s employees, sharing his thoughts on leadership as service.

He spoke about the importance of genuinely caring for people, and the belief that innovation should always have human worth at its centre.

In a social media post, Strauss said he is proud to join an organisation that has been around for more than 100 years and has continuously reinvented and transformed itself.

“What we stand for as an organisation can not be adequately articulated in a purpose, a mission or a vision. It is more than that,” he said. 

“Our foundation is a multi-generational covenant between us and our members that we will be there for them when they need us most.”

AVBOB CEO’s first day