O’Keeffe & Swartz's Rogan Davies on prioritising education ahead of The Sun International CEO SleepOut™
Nelson Mandela once said: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." True to form as a leader, Rogan Davies as the CEO of O'Keeffe & Swartz evidently embodies this particular principle.
Education builds leadership and it's no surprise that it is a strong priority for the CEO of O'Keeffe & Swartz, Rogan Davies: “I’m very, very partial to education and my sense is that South Africa needs better and more education for our youth, because without education and access to employment, you are really limited. So joining The CEO SleepOut™ is about creating that awareness and opportunities for our youth.”
Rogan is the CEO of O’Keeffe & Swartz (OKS), an outbound call centre that sells up to 60 000 insurance policies every month on behalf of clients using direct marketing methods.
During the 2014/2015 financial year, O’Keeffe & Swartz generated over R407 million in annualised premium income for its clients which amounts to more than R51 billion in insurance cover sold to almost 2 million South Africans. Established in 1993, its clients include the major banks and insurance companies in South Africa.
Prior to joining O’Keeffe & Swartz, Rogan was the Head of Collections Operations Strategy, Change and Optimisation at Barclays Africa / ABSA Bank. Rogan has extensive experience in the South African financial services sector primarily in retail sales, operations & collections. He has held numerous senior banking executive and management positions and has experience working across multiple operating brands and across companies.
Rogan was founder and CEO of Summit Financial partners, a consumer and micro finance business from 1996 to 2001, growing the business from a KZN-based operation to a national operation which he later sold. Rogan has also owned and managed a number of franchise restaurants in Johannesburg and KZN.
Rogan holds an MBA, cum laude, from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and also attended the Wits Business Schools (WBS) International executive development program which included courses at WBS in Johannesburg, London Business School in the UK and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India.