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Her experience started and continues to live in Sanlam
Her experience started and continues to live in Sanlam

Her experience started and continues to live in Sanlam

Gerda Khun is the General Manager of Policy Administration and Bancassurance at Sanlam Namibia
Wetumwene Shikage
Wetumwene Shikage



Gerda khun has been working at Sanlam for 33 years which includes the six years she spent at the Sanlam office in South Africa.

The General Manager of Policy Administration and Bancassurance says she is strategically responsible for the teams who issue clients’ policies, collecting premiums to maintain cover for benefits selected and making sure that they operate within all Compliance rules as well as pay claims at the end of the client journey.



Khun was born in Riversdale in the Western Cape in South Africa. She attended school and matriculated in the small town of Albertinia. After school, she joined Sanlam at the Head office in Bellville.

Daily tasks

Khun says there are no dull moments in her day. “Meetings take place to make decisions on work procedures, implementation of new products and processes and catching up with teams on the progress of work in the different departments,” she explained. The operational side involves assistance to internal and external clients as well as to managers on decisions. Khun also books time out to make sure she attends to strategic objectives where her teams are concerned.

After having spent 33 years at Sanlam, Khun shares some of the reasons that helped her remain at Sanlam for all those years. Khun thinks her generation tends to stay longer within one company. Apart from this, she believes that “one works and stays longer where company values are in line with your personal values and where you feel part of achieving company objectives. Also, where you are given opportunities to grow and build a career and freedom to use your own initiative to reach goals,” she said

Khun says the most challenging part about her job is juggling responsibilities. “I would say trying to “keep all balls in the air” and making sure that I remain focused and prioritise well will help me run the business smoothly and avert crisis,” she said.

Measuring success

Khun believes that you are only as strong as your team. “Lifting up your team and making them stronger will make sure that you are also successful. Teams knowing and understanding the goals that they need to achieve and executing them well brings success. Being able to understand and adapt to a fast changing environment, will determine your success,” she said. This, Khun says was especially evident during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that our ability as a company to adjust quickly ensured that we were still able to serve and meet the demands of our clients.



Khun’s advice to young people is that they must always be prepared as you never know when opportunities come your way. Sometimes it comes from unexpected directions when you least expect it. Do not “try to conquer the world on your own”. Nobody ever won a war on his own. Know who your mentors and “go to people” are and tap from their expertise and knowledge in any formal and informal way possible.

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-29

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 29° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 21° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 33° Tsumeb: 19° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 29° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:22, High tide: 05:24, Low Tide: 23:26, High tide: 17:46 Swakopmund: 16° | 17° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:22, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:44 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:21, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:43 Rehoboth: 19° | 30° Mariental: 23° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 35° Aranos: 22° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 27° | 28° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 21° Maseru: 11° | 29° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Cape Town: 17° | 28° Durban: 20° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 20° | 30° Harare: 16° | 29° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.8 | EUR to NAD 20.36 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.87 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.77 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.39 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.87 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12986.94 Up +0.04% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53%