Inside a FIC Mock Audit: How to Avoid Sanctions Before They Hit

JOLEEN JOHN

Managing Director

Known for her strategic thinking and pragmatic leadership style, Joleen brings more than 22 years of experience across financial services, strategy, adviser distribution and business transformation. She leads the Masthead Group, a leading South African advisory, compliance and practice management businesses serving the financial services industry. Her career spans senior leadership roles at Discovery, Old Mutual and Masthead, where she has built a reputation for helping businesses navigate regulatory change, drive sustainable growth and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Her leadership philosophy is that lasting success is achieved by aligning strategy, people and purpose.

Joleen holds a BCom (Accounting) from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and an MBA from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.

LAURENCE MULLER

Finance Director & Chief Operating Officer

Laurence joined Masthead as Head of Finance in 2007. Two years later he was appointed to his current position as Financial Director and has since served as a director on the Masthead board. During 2021 he was also appointed as COO.

Laurence has a BAcc and BCompt Honours degree and is a Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)). He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning through the University of Stellenbosch Business School and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and member of the Financial Planning Institute (FPI). He has also successfully completed the FSCA’s RE 1 and 5 Examinations.

ANRI DIPPENAAR

Head of Compliance

Anri Dippenaar is the Head of Compliance at Masthead, where she leads Masthead’s compliance offering across a broad range of regulated industries. She has extensive experience in financial services compliance and is recognised for her ability to translate complex regulatory frameworks into practical, scalable compliance solutions that strengthen governance and operational resilience. Under her leadership, Masthead supports a wide range of regulated businesses, including independent and corporate financial services providers (FSPs), insurers, UMAs, binder holders, crypto asset service providers (CASPs), as well as accountable institutions such as legal practitioners, property practitioners and high-value goods dealers.

Anri is actively involved in industry forums and regulatory workstreams relating to COFI and broader regulatory reform, and is a regular speaker at national conferences, where she is known for delivering pragmatic, implementation-focused insights on regulatory change and compliance best practice.

SHERLENE NEETHLING

Head of Operations

Sherlene has more than 25 years’ experience in Financial Services having worked in the Employee Benefits, Linked Product and Life Assurance environments prior to joining Masthead in 2006.

Sherlene has a wealth of experience having worked in many areas including, product marketing, traditional marketing, and operations. As Head of Operations at Masthead, she leads the IT, marketing, operations and learning centre teams.

Sherlene has a marketing qualification and a Certificate in Journalism.

ANDRIA HIBBERT

Head of Corporate Accounts and Regional Manager

Andria has been in the financial industry for more than 33 years having worked in banks and insurance companies. She joined Old Mutual Broker Distribution in 1995 as an Admin Manager in Durban and later joined Masthead when they opened their doors in October 2004 as the Regional Services Manager for KwaZulu-Natal. Five years later she was appointed as the Regional Manager in KwaZulu-Natal and in 2014 she was transferred to Johannesburg as the Regional Manager.

In 2020, she took on the additional role of National Key Account Manager and was responsible for managing all Corporate Accounts. In 2022, Andria was promoted to Head of Corporate Accounts and transferred to the Western Cape as Regional Manager.

Andria has a BCom in Industrial Psychology degree. She is also a registered Compliance Officer with the FSCA for CAT I, II, IIA, and IV and has successfully completed the FSCA’s RE 1 and RE 3 Examinations.

MAQBOOL SONDAY

Head of Finance

Maqbool joined Masthead as a Financial Accountant in 2008. Seven years later he was appointed as Finance Manager and then appointed to his current position as Head of Finance in 2022.

Maqbool has a BCom Accounting degree from the University of the Western Cape. From 2003 and 2005, he completed his articles at SizweNtsalubaVSP and in 2006 he went on to complete his BCom Honours degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

HEIDI DE LANGE

Regional Manager and Compliance Officer

Heidi has more than 33 years’ experience in the financial services industry. In 2004, she moved from Old Mutual to Masthead as a Regional Service Manager. Nine years later she was appointed as Regional Manager of the Gauteng North, Limpopo and Mpumalanga region and went on to become a Compliance Officer to complement the management offering.

Heidi has a BCom Entrepreneurs degree from Unisa and she is approved as a CAT I and CAT II Compliance Officer. She has also successfully passed all the FSCA’s Regulatory Examinations.