Absa fills five major positions

Johannesburg - Banking group Absa [JSE:ASA] on Friday announced five new executive appointments, all of whom will become members of the Absa Group executive committee chaired by the group chief executive, Maria Ramos.

These appointments are part of an extensive programme Absa has embarked upon to enhance and strengthen its leadership composition at the senior leadership level as the Group prepares to maximise opportunities presented by the country's recovering economy.

Fergus Marupen joins Absa as Group Executive, Human Resources, effective 1 April 2010. Marupen will report directly to Ramos. He is currently Vice President of Human Resources for the Energy and Coal division of BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL]. Prior to this, he was General Manager of Human Resources for Kumba Iron Ore [JSE:KIO].

Bobby Malabie joins Absa as chief executive, Absa Business Bank, reporting to Louis von Zeuner, Absa Group deputy group chief Executive, effective 1 April 2010. Malabie joins Absa from Liberty Life, where he held the position of CEO, marketing and distribution. Prior to that, Malabie held senior roles at Charter Life, Nedcor and the South African Breweries [JSE:SAB] .

Gavin Opperman has been appointed to the role of chief executive, retail bank. Opperman's most recent role within Absa was that of group executive, secured lending, where he was responsible for, among others, home loans and vehicle & asset finance. Opperman has also held senior positions in the home loans division and was managing director of Absa Asia (Hong Kong) prior to its closure in 2005.

Daphne Motsepe has been appointed chief Executive, unsecured Lending. Motsepe recently returned to South Africa from an assignment to Barclays in the United Kingdom, where she worked in the commercial and retail banking sectors. Prior to her UK assignment, she held senior positions in the Retail Bank, including head of small business, which contributes substantially to the bottom-line. Her portfolio will now include small business, card, and personal finance.

Opperman and Motsepe will both report to Louis von Zeuner.

Venete Klein has been appointed executive director, corporate affairs and sustainability. Venete was previously responsible for the transactional and Deposit business of Absa's Retail Bank. She will now be responsible for, among others, group government relations, transformation, corporate social investment (CSI) and sustainability.

"We may have taken a while to make these appointments," said Maria Ramos, "but this was in line with our quest to ensure that we selected the best talent for the roles, and we are satisfied that we have achieved that goal. Paramount in this regard was our transformation objectives, among other considerations. I am excited that we have made great strides with these latest appointments," she added.

These latest appointments reflect the Group's desire to grow talent from within as well as attract the best skills available on the market. Absa has previously announced the departure of the group financial director, Jacques Schindehutte at the end of February. The process to identify the new group financial director is well underway and an announcement will be made in due course.

- I-Net Bridge