Standard Bank chair Nonkululeko Nyembezi has backed the group’s talent pool amid the exit of several executives to join Absa over the past year.
Nyembezi, in her yearly letter to shareholders published in the group’s annual report, made public on Monday, said the board in 2025 spent “considerable time on executive and nonexecutive succession” planning.
“The board noted and considered the unexpected losses of senior talent during the year. We concluded that the group’s approach to executive succession remains sound and that we retain more than sufficient depth and breadth of skills to achieve our goals,” Nyembezi said.
“Ensuring strong succession pipelines for roles approaching retirement or transition remains a key priority.
“With regard to the group’s human capital more broadly, we continue to oversee management’s investment in the development and wellbeing of our people, in the ongoing development of leadership depth and in reinforcing our values-driven culture.”
Absa pulled off a coup a year ago when it prised Kenny Fihla away from Standard Bank, where he had held multiple roles, with his last being that of deputy CEO, doubling up as head of the South Africa and broader Africa portfolios.
Fihla’s enduring legacy at Standard Bank was the role he played in growing its corporate and investment banking (CIB) business into a juggernaut, indispensable to deal-making on the continent.
Under his guardianship as CEO in 2017 to 2024, Standard Bank CIB franchise doubled its headline earnings to R20.5bn and achieved a compound annual growth rate of 8.6%.
To achieve his goals at Absa, Fihla has turned to his trusted Standard Bank CIB foot soldiers to help in achieving the target of geographically diversifying the bank’s earnings.
Absa in September appointed Zaid Moola as CEO of its CIB business. Before the appointment, Moola led Standard Bank’s highly successful global markets, which contributes about 43% of the CIB’s revenue.
In another signal that Fihla aims to grow Absa’s CIB business, the lender appointed Musa Motloung as group strategic risk officer, also joining from Standard Bank, where he held the role of chief risk officer in the CIB business.
Motloung reports to the chief risk officer, Rajal Vaidya.
Avikaar Ramphal left his role as head of strategy enablement at Standard Bank’s CIB franchise and joined Absa as its head of strategic risk.
Standard Bank group CEO Sim Tshabalala and CFO Arno Daehnke are set to retire at the end of 2027, after serving in the roles for more than a decade.
Tshabalala has backed the group’s internal talent pool to step up to the roles.
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