Absa chief executive Ramos to retire at end of February
Absa CEO Maria Ramos will retire at the end of February when she turns 60 and becomes eligible to do so, the banking group said on Tuesday.
Ramos has been group CEO since 2009 and has led Absa through significant milestones including acquiring Barclays’s Africa subsidiary banks; the sell-down and the start of separation from Barclays and establishing a new strategy as a standalone financial institution.
Absa said its board had appointed René van Wyk, a non-executive director since February 2017, as interim chief executive with effect from March 1.
Van Wyk was previously registrar of banks at the South African Reserve Bank until May 2016. He spent 19 years at Nedbank, including as executive director of risk for the then listed Nedcor Investment Bank, and was also CEO of Imperial Bank.
Absa said van Wyk would be classified as an executive director with effect from February 1.
"Absa will announce a permanent appointment to the position of group chief executive in due course, following the finalisation of the ongoing process of appointing a new CEO, and the requisite regulatory approvals," the bank said.
Absa Group chairperson Wendy Lucas-Bull said with Ramos at the helm, the company had changed from being a South African bank to a pan-African financial services provider with a footprint in ten countries across the continent.
Ramos said had her intention to step down earlier had been curtailed by Barclays Plc's 2016 decision to sell down its controlling stake in Absa, a unique set of circumstances that required continuity.
"So with my coming 60th birthday I have made the decision to leave the position open for a new chief executive to lead the group on the next leg of its exciting journey," she said.
Under her leadership, Absa acquired Barclays’s eight African subsidiaries for R18.3-billion in 2013, the largest African acquisition ever by a South African bank.
She led the separation negotiations with Barclays which resulted in a R12.6-billion upfront contribution plus R2-billion earmarked for black economic empowerment.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation