Thamaries “Tammy” Tisane stepped into the role of Acting Managing Director of the Land Bank Insurance group in mid-2026, taking temporary charge of one of South Africa’s more specialised state-owned insurers at a moment when climate volatility and agricultural risk sit high on the national economic agenda.
Land Bank Insurance operates through two licensed entities: Land Bank Insurance Company (LBIC), a registered non-life insurer, and Land Bank Life Insurance Company (LBLIC), a licensed life insurer and authorised financial services provider. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Land Bank, South Africa’s state-owned agricultural development finance institution, and together they underwrite asset insurance, credit life insurance and crop insurance products aimed squarely at farmers and agribusinesses, a segment often underserved by mainstream commercial insurers.
Tisane’s elevation to the acting MD seat follows her tenure as the group’s Head of Risk Management, a position that placed her at the centre of how LBIC and LBLIC price and manage exposure to some of the most unpredictable risks in the local economy, including drought, flooding and other climate-linked threats to crop yields and farm assets. Her prior substantive role sat alongside Pascal Siphugu, the group’s Managing Director, whose position she has stepped into on an acting basis.
Her career path into agricultural insurance leadership runs through mainstream banking and international financial services. Before joining Land Bank Insurance, Tisane held roles at Nedbank and spent time with Old Mutual Group in London, giving her exposure to both domestic banking risk frameworks and the operating standards of a global insurance and asset management group.
That combination of local agricultural-sector knowledge and international financial services grounding is typical of the profile Land Bank has sought for senior appointments as it works to professionalise governance across its insurance subsidiaries.
Tisane holds a Master of Business Administration and has completed an International Executive Development Programme, credentials that sit alongside the qualifications held by her fellow executives at LBIC, several of whom hold MBAs and specialised insurance or actuarial designations, reflecting a leadership team built around technical risk and finance expertise rather than generalist management.
Her risk background is likely to shape how she approaches the acting role. Land Bank Insurance has in recent periods placed public emphasis on governance and ethics, including participating in a panel discussion held to mark Global Ethics Day, underscoring the importance state-owned entities in the financial sector have placed on demonstrating sound governance following years of heightened scrutiny of South Africa’s state-owned companies.
What her tenure will be watched for is whether LBIC and LBLIC can continue expanding access to crop and asset insurance for South African farmers, a mandate that has grown more urgent as extreme weather events increase the financial exposure carried by the agricultural sector, while maintaining the governance standards the group has publicly committed to upholding.