Absa Group Limited has appointed Aaron Daniel Mminele as Group Chief Executive effective January 15, 2020.
Mminele will take over from René van Wyk, who has been leading the bank on an interim basis since Maria Ramos’ retired in February last year.
“We are delighted to welcome Daniel to the Absa family. He brings with him a deep understanding of the financial services industry both in South Africa and abroad,” Wendy Lucas-Bull, the chairman of the Absa Group Board, said in a statement on January 6.
“His unique skills set and global perspective make him a suitable leader to drive our bank’s focus on long-term growth that is digitally-led across our markets,” Wendy added.
Absa launched its strategy in March 2018, when it separated from parent company Barclays PLC. It said it would focus on regaining market share in core businesses. It reconfigured its operating model and made changes to its Executive Committee to set up the business for implementation of the strategy.
It has a presence in 12 countries in Africa, with approximately 40, 000 employees.
The Group’s registered head office is in Johannesburg, South Africa, and it owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa (Absa Bank), Tanzania (Barclays Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia.
The group also has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria, as well as insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, and an International Representative Office in London.
“I am delighted to be joining the Absa group. I look forward to being part of and leading the exciting journey that Absa has embarked upon to regain its rightful place in the South African market as well as to fully establish itself as an independent African financial services group with deep roots in South Africa,” Mminele said.
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Mminele has worked for more than 20 years at the South African Reserve Bank, where he rose through the ranks to be a Deputy Governor and a member of key committees such as the Monetary Policy Committee and Financial Stability Committee.
His other main responsibilities included financial markets and international economic relations and policy.
He has represented South Africa in various international forums such as the G20, BRICS and the International Monetary Fund. He was also a regular participant in National Treasury’s international investor roadshow to promote South Africa.
Before joining the SARB, Mminele worked as a banker.
After completing a Diploma in Banking at Sparkasse Paderborn in Germany in 1987, he spent eight years in various roles at the Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, at its Düsseldorf and London offices.
He continued his studies while in the UK and obtained various certificates from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Bankers.
He returned to South Africa in 1995, then spent about two years each at Commerzbank, working as a customer relations manager in corporate banking, and at African Merchant Bank, as a project and structured finance specialist, in Johannesburg.
“We are really looking forward to Daniel joining the Absa Group and to his leadership in driving our strategy and guiding this organization into the future,” Wendy said.
Van Wyk will step down as Chief Executive on January 14 but remain with the Group as an executive director for handover purposes until January 31.
He will rejoin Absa Group and Absa Bank’s boards as a non-executive director after six months.
