The African Insurance Organisation’s (AIO) incoming president has spent more than 30 years in the Algerian insurance market.

Benhabiles Cherif, president of the local organising committee, will take over as president of the AIO from outgoing president Dr Ben Kajwang, director and CEO of the College of Insurance in Kenya. Dr Kajwang is the former chairman of the Association of Insurance Trainers Educators in Africa and is an executive board member of the Organisation of East and Southern Africa Insurers (OESAI).

Mr Cherif is CEO at CNMA, after joining the company back in 2008 as a technical director of insurance. Before that he had spent more than 15 years at the Algerian Insurance and Reinsurance Company.

In his time at CNMA, Mr Cherif has transformed its agricultural insurance programme and is now invited across the continent to share his expertise.

For the past year he has been vice-president of the AIO and will be replaced in that role by Patty Karuaihe-Martin, managing director of Namib Re and board chair of OESAI.

By Joan Kitanga