The document summarizes the author's experience as Development Manager at FNBInsurance from March 2015 to March 2018. In this role, the author was responsible for development plans and delivery, managing a team of 8 developers, project management, and vendor management. Some of the author's accomplishments included decommissioning an ambitious but failed new administration system, writing a new quoting tool in Delphi, and overseeing system consolidations. The author gained valuable experience in management, negotiations with vendors, and working with a mentor.

1. Development Manager at FNBInsurance
March 2015 to March 2018
Business Background
FNBInsurance wasthe bankassurance portionof FNB,but fullyownedandoperatedbyMomentum.
TheyoperatedinSouthAfrica,andsome southernAfricancountrieslike Botswana,Lesotho,
SwazilandandNamibia.
Products
 Group Schemes(internal forFNBEmployees –FNBAll In One)
 Funeral
 Personal Accident
 EmbeddedCreditLife (withFNB –deathand disabilitycover)
 Middle marketproducts(Life Insurance)
Technology Background
My initial role atFNBInusrance wasthe review of new in-house developedJAVA adminsystemthat
had fallenbehindonimplementation.Sothe earlydayswere filledwithJAVA andXMLdiscussions
and I wasleftwiththe un-enviabletaskof decommissioningthe system. Itwasa verywell thought
out anddesignedsystem –butbasicallyabit tooambitious. The call wasmade to use some portions
of the newsystem,butfall backon an olderRPGbasedsystemforthe short term.
The IT areahad a backlogof requirementsandalarge amount of disparate systems (andExcel )
usedforadministration.CoenievanDerMerwe (CIO) putfortha fairly ambitious system
consolidationplan andthere wasareal “tactical” flavourtothe initial time atFNBInsurance. We
had to splitresourcesbetweenconsolidationandnew developmenttokeepbusinesshappy.
Technologies
 RPG on AS/400
 Java
 Delphi
 VB / ASP
Responsibilities
 Developmentplansand delivery
 Line Management(Developmentteam–8 people)
 Projectmanagement(ITProjects)
 Vendorandcontract management
 Development(certainshort-term“stopgap”applicationsdevelopedinDelphi tomeet
businessobjectivesuntillongtermdeliveryinappropriate technologies)

2. Personal highlights
Witha fairamountof developmentexperience,Iassistedinthe shorttermbywritinga new quoting
console (IA Console) inDelphitoreplace anExcel Spreadsheet usedbyexternalagents. This
developmentwasa nice “escape”frommore tediousandmundane taskslike projectandline
management. LaterIalsowrote a replacementadministrationsystemforthe FNB-All inone product
(itwas preciouslyoutsourcedtoLinkSA).
I alsogot veryinvolvedwithsomevendors(LinkSA,SDT) innegotiatingnew contractsandrunning
downadministrationontheirsystems.Some exposure to external salesparties(like OKeefeand
Schwartz) paveda pathfor my laterdevelopmentintothisniche,soIwill alwaysfondlyremember
thisas the start of that particularpath.
My mostmemorable achievementsatFNBInsurance are possiblyonthe “softer”side –I had various
difficultemployeesandinterestingdynamicstodeal with,andIbelieveIleftastronger,more
focussedandmature developmentteam thanthe one I inherited.Itwasalsomy first“real”
managementpositionandIthinkback fondly of the initial jittersof dealingwithunhappypeople
and the eventual satisfactionof seeingthemall pull together.
On a personal note – I continuedanearlierworkingrelationshipwithCoenievanderMerwe and
seeinghimworkhis“corporate magic”up close wasa real eye opener.Icouldnothave askedfora
bettermentorinthisregard.