The UK wealth manager has tweaked its top team.

Old Mutual Wealth has appointed Leon Deist as chief information officer, replacing John McCowan who will remain part of the senior management team.

Deist joins from Liberty Group in South Africa, where he was responsible for technology transformation, digital strategy and shared service operations. Before that, he was director of enablement at Virgin Money (SA) and a founding member of Arivia, a technology outsourcing service.

In his new role, which he will assume in December, Deist will be responsible for overseeing Old Mutual Wealth’s technology and change functions. He will report to chief operating officer, Steve Braudo.

Meanwhile, McCowan will take on an IT-focused role as part of the leadership team and will report to Deist.

“As we prepare for managed separation from Old Mutual plc we are building the skills and capabilities we need for the future,” said Braudo.  

“This is an exciting time for our organisation and we need to ensure that our technology capability is organised and strengthened to be ready for our independent future. Leon’s wealth of experience will enhance the strong team that we already have here.”

Earlier this year, Old Mutual Wealth’s parent company, London-listed Old Mutual, announced plans to split its four major business lines – Old Mutual Wealth, Old Mutual Emerging Markets, Old Mutual Asset Management and Nedbank – into separate, standalone entities.