/ 27 January 2012

Shake-up in Absa’s upper echelons as top officials resign

Absa’s top executive structures have been shaken up, with the announcement on Friday that Alfie Naidoo, the group’s chief operating officer, Happy Ntshingila, the chief marketing and communication officer, and Daphne Motsepe, chief executive: Unsecured Lending will be exiting the bank.

Group chief executive Maria Ramos said Naidoo would be leaving to pursue personal interests after a 10-year career at the bank, while Ntshingila would be taking up an “exciting position” outside banking at the end of February, the bank said.

Motsepe retires at the end of April after a 10-year career at the bank.

The resignations did not rattle the market. Absa’s share price was up 0.6% to around R147 on news of the reshuffle.

Ramos said in a statement: “The changes offer the group, which is the largest retail bank by customer numbers in South Africa, the opportunity to transition the Absa ExCo portfolios towards a more customer-focused leadership structure for the future.”

Motsepe’s portfolio has been incorporated into Retail and Business Bank, which is run by Bobby Malabie. The portfolios of Naidoo and Ntshingila are to be incorporated into the portfolios of other executive committee members.