ABSA Bank Executives
The Absa Group Executive Committee oversees the execution of the strategy for the Group which includes Absa Bank.
- Akash Singh
- Arrie Rautenbach
- Bongiwe Gangeni
- Charles Russon
- Charles Wheeler
- Deon Raju
- Jason Quinn
- Prabashni Naidoo
- Punki Modise
- Wilhelm Krige
The Absa Group Executive Committee oversees the execution of the strategy for the Group which includes Absa Bank.
Arrie Rautenbach
Arrie Rautenbach is the chief executive: Retail and Business Banking South Africa.
Prior to this appointment, Arrie was chief risk officer and responsible for Group Strategy and the separation from Barclays PLC. He began his career with Absa Group in Bankfin in the late 1990s and has since held a number of leadership positions, including head of Retail Banking in South Africa and managing executive: Absa Card, managing executive: Customer Segments and managing executive: Branch network.
Qualifications: BBA; MBA; AMP
August van Heerden
August van Heerden is the Chief Risk Officer for Barclays Africa Group Limited. Prior to his appointment, he was the Chief Separation Officer, responsible for the separation programme of the Group from Barclays PLC. From March 2016 to January 2017, August was the Chief Risk Officer for the to-be-formed Discovery Bank. Prior to that, from 2012 to 2016, he was the Chief Financial Officer for our Retail and Business Banking business.
August began his career with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co (subsequently KPMG) in 1983, where after he held various financial related positions at Nedbank Limited, KPMG, and Standard Bank Group, amongst others.
Qualifications: BCom; BAcc (Hons); CA (SA); Advanced Diploma in Banking Law
Bobby Malabie
Bobby is the group executive: Brand and Corporate Relations.
Bobby joined the Group and the Executive Committee in 2010. He has held senior roles within Charter Life, Nedbank Group and South African Breweries. He joined Liberty Group, where he held the position of chief executive officer: Marketing and Distribution.
Qualifications: BCom, MBA, MDP
Bongiwe Gangeni
Bongiwe Gangeni is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Retail & Business Bank (RBB) with accountability for Private and Business Bank.
Since joining Absa in 2007, Bongiwe has held a number of senior positions in the bank, with her most recent role being Managing Executive for Distribution in Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance (WIMI).
Bongiwe’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) and Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PDM) from Wits Business School, an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and she has also attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School.
Qualifications: BPharm; PDM; MBA; AMP
Charles Russon
Charles is the group executive: Engineering Services.
He joined the Group in 2006 and the Executive Committee in 2014. He completed his articles with KPMG and then joined Merrill Lynch in London as financial controller for credit products. Charles worked for Deutsche Bank in London and Frankfurt from 1998 to 2006 as the rates head of product control before he joined Absa Capital in September 2006 as chief financial officer.
Charles became the chief operating officer of Corporate and Investment Banking in October 2007 and regional head of Finance for Absa Group in September 2012. He was appointed as chief operating officer for Absa Group in May 2014.
Qualifications: CA (SA)
Charles Wheeler
Charles is the general counsel and the acting head of compliance.
Charles joined the Group and the Executive Committee in 2013. He previously worked as director: Legal Services at Standard Bank until 2003; as group executive: commercial legal at MTN Group Limited until 2010 and most recently as a legal consultant for Webber Wentzel.
Qualifications: BA; LLB; HDip (Tax)
Jason Quinn
Jason is the group financial director.
He joined the Board and Executive Committee in September 2016. He is the chairman of the Models Committee and a member of the Group Risk and Capital Management, Credit Concentration Risk, Information Technology and Separation Oversight Committees.
Before joining the Group, Jason was a partner at Ernst & Young Inc. He joined the Group in 2008 as financial controller and was appointed as the head of Finance in 2014 after holding several senior finance positions.
Jason is a director of Absa Financial Services Limited, Woolworths Financial Services (Pty) Limited and is an employer-appointed trustee of the Absa Pension Fund.
Qualifications: BAcc (Hons); CA(SA)
Maria Ramos
Maria is the chief executive and joined the Board as an executive director in 2009.
Maria is a member of the Group Risk and Capital Management, Credit Concentration Risk, Social and Ethics, Information Technology, Models, and Separation Oversight Committees.
She was previously the director general of the National Treasury and in January 2004, she was appointed as the group chief executive of Transnet Limited. Maria joined Absa as group chief executive in March 2009.
Maria is a non-executive director of Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA. She is also a member of the International Business Council Executive Committee, Business Leadership South Africa and the Banking Association of South Africa.
Qualifications: Institute of Bankers’ Diploma (CAIB); BCom (Hons); MSc (Economics)
Nomkhita Nqweni
Nomkhita is the chief executive: Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance.
Nomkhita was appointed to the Executive Committee in 2013. She spent the majority of her career at Alexander Forbes, performing a variety of functions and before joining Absa Group in 2010, she was the managing director of Alexander Forbes Financial Services Holdings Limited. Nomkhita was appointed as the head of Absa Wealth in June 2010 and became the chief executive: Wealth and Investment Management in 2013.
Qualifications: BSc; PG Dip (Investment Management)
Peter Matlare
Peter is the deputy chief executive officer of the Group, responsible for the rest of Africa operations and he is an executive director for Absa Group Limited Board.
Peter began his career with the Urban Foundation and Citibank and gained international experience, particularly in Europe. He is the previous chief executive officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), chief strategy and business development officer of Vodacom SA Proprietary Limited and executive director of commercial at Vodacom SA Proprietary Limited. Most recently, Peter was the chief executive officer of Tiger Brands Limited.
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) (Political Science); MA (South African Studies)
Yasmin Masithela
Yasmin is the group executive: Strategic Services.
She joined the group in 2011 and was previously head of Compliance, and prior to that, general counsel for Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance. Yasmin completed her articles with Webber Wentzel and became an associate in the South African project finance team. In 2001 she joined Siemens Limited where she later led the projects and export finance department.
Prior to joining Absa Group, she was a partner responsible for general corporate, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and project finance at Phukubje Pierce Masithela.
Qualifications: LLB; HDip (Company Law); LLM( Tax Law)