Prav Govinder, the CEO of Discovery Connect, recently cut the ribbon at stunning new offices in Park Square, Umhlanga, where he aims to employ up to 150 high-performing locals by early next year. We sat down to get to know him better.
The youngest member of Discovery’s South African Executive Committee – Durban-born Prav (37) oversees Discovery’s in-house direct-to-consumer sales division, Discovery Connect. Prav returned to his home province this month to inaugurate brand new offices in Park Square, alongside Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner. We caught up with Prav to learn more about him and what he hopes to accomplish in KwaZulu-Natal through Discovery Connect.
Q: You’re a Harvard graduate and the youngest ever member of Discovery’s South African executive committee. What’s your background and how did you get to your current role?
I’m a Durban boy, through and through! I grew up in Effingham and spent many of my childhood holidays with extended family in Tongaat. I attended local public schools, then left home to pursue a finance degree at UCT. I went on to get an MBA from Harvard (living in Boston) and then worked for a number of years at McKinsey&Company, before I joined Discovery in 2015 and never looked back!
At the moment, I head up Discovery Connect. Before this role, I ran Special Projects for the Group Chief Marketing Officer and then for the CEO of Discovery Life, following which I turned my focus towards building the Discovery Connect business. It’s been a steep growth and learning curve ever since.
Q: What is Discovery Connect?
We’re Discovery’s in-house Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) financial intermediary business. We’re the team behind every Discovery advert you see on TV, online or on social media. And if you ever call or show interest in joining Discovery via the company’s website, you’ll engage with one of the highly trained staff in our telesales team. We operate across all Discovery’s Health, Bank, Vitality, Life, Insure and Invest products in South Africa.
Q: It’s one of Discovery’s fastest growing divisions, isn’t it?
Yes, we became a stand-alone FSP and subsidiary of the Discovery Group in 2016 and currently have over 450 employees, based at our headquarters in Sandton. Now, with the opening of our Durban offices, we have exciting growth potential here too. Our agents are experts on every one of Discovery’s products, delivering the high-quality client experience that consumers are accustomed to receiving from Discovery. Together, our team generates over 1,200 new policy activations for Discovery daily.
Q: Does opening new offices here mean there’s still room for growth?
Absolutely. Just over a year ago we decided to pilot a second location for Discovery Connect, given the strong growth after the COVID-19 pandemic, the fact that we were running out of physical office space to grow in Sandton, and the insights we received that KwaZulu-Natal was a strategic location for us to leverage the sales excellence.
Within just six months here, we were convinced about scaling up. Currently Discovery Bank is experiencing excellent growth as the fastest growing bank in the South Africa, so this move is of strategic value to their and our business’ success.
Q: So are you actively hiring now?
Yes, we currently have 80 team members based in the Durban office, and our goal is fill at least 70 more positions with talented, driven locals by April next year. We are hoping to double the Umhlanga team’s size to 300 by 2024. We’re determined at Discovery Connect to build a high-performing team that’s known for its expertise and service excellence, so we’re on the lookout for the best in the industry.
To see what positions we have open, you can search on the Careers page on Discovery’s website: https://careers.discovery.co.za/go/Discovery-Connect/5518601/
Q: Do you find these milestones personally significant?
Speaking at our launch event was definitely a goosebumps moment for me. I find it very meaningful to play a part in creating and supporting employment opportunities here. Having left home myself to pursue a career, it feels like a huge win that top performers in Durban no longer need to leave their families to seek greener pastures. The financial services roles we’re offering here are every bit as rewarding as those offered in Joburg.
Q: How are you enjoying the new premises?
It’s terrific being here. The Park Square office was modelled on Discovery’s flagship office in Sandton, so it’s designed to be a collaborative and exciting space that offers staff all the convenience and benefits they’ve come to expect from a Discovery workspace. We try to support and inspire our team in every way we can, so they can bring their best selves to work every day and deliver high-quality experiences for our clients.
Q: Where to, next?
We’re always focused on the future. Discovery Connect’s goal is to cover one million lives by 2023 with our extensive product range – from health insurance, long and short-term insurance and investments, to banking and Vitality. And, for my next visit to Umhlanga, I’ll know to bring my running shoes because I always enjoy an evening run along the promenade.