Mr Birrell was appointed to the Sanlam Board on 01 September 2019. He is an expert in life insurance, general insurance, health insurance, stock broking, online banking and investment management.
He chairs the Risk and Compliance committee and serves as a member of the Audit, Actuarial and Finance Committee and the Independent Non-Executive Directors committee.
He has served on boards of companies in the financial services sector including life and general insurance, health insurance, stock broking, asset management and online retail banking in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Ireland, Scandinavia and Canada.
Mr Birrell holds a B.Bus.Sc (Actuarial) (Hons) from the University of Cape Town, is a Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA Global Association) and a member of the Institute of Directors (UK). He is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK and of the Actuarial Society of South Africa.