Sipho Pityana appointed as Absa lead independent director

The Absa Board has appointed Business Unity SA president Sipho Pityana as its lead independent director, it said on Wednesday.

As a lead independent director Pityana, who joined the board in May 2019, will be the focal point for the Board's independence and be the prime intermediary between Absa Board chair Wendy Lucas-Bull and other external directors.

Pityana's directorship experience includes his role as co-chair of World Economic Forum's new Africa board, a position he clinched in January this year. He is also an independent non-executive chairperson of Redefine Properties and AngloGold Ashanti, and executive chair of his own investment outfit, Izingwe Holdings.

Absa said Mohamed Husain, who had served as the lead independent since 2018, will retire on Thursday, 4 June 2020. The banking group is due to hold a virtual AGM on Thursday.

Absa also announced that former PwC Africa's chief operating officer, Fulvio Tonelli, will join the group as a non-independent non-executive director from 1 July 2020.