Absa | Absa Board of Directors

Absa Bank Limited (Absa) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Absa Group. We offer a range of retail, business, corporate and investment banking, as well as wealth management, products and services primarily in South Africa and Africa.

The Absa Bank Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI), which is in accordance with the Companies Act 2008, regulates the rights, duties and responsibilities of shareholders, directors and others within the Bank.

Absa Bank MOI and Registration Certificates

Good corporate governance creates and sustains shareholder value, ensures that our behaviour is ethical and promotes positive outcomes for all our stakeholders. This is why we are committed to the highest standards of corporate governance. Our board is the focal point and custodian of Absa Group’s governance principles as set out in our Board Charter and contained in various policies and standards.

Group Chief Executive Officer

Kenny Fihla

Kenny Fihla

Group Chief Executive Officer

Kenny was appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer and executive director of Absa Group and Absa Bank, effective 17 June 2025.

Kenny is a recognised leader with substantial Pan-African banking experience and a proven track record.

He has nearly 20 years of experience in leadership roles in the banking sector. He joined Standard Bank Group in 2006 as head of Investor Services, Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). In 2008, he was appointed head of Transactional Products and Services, SA, for Standard Bank CIB, whereafter he was appointed deputy chief executive of CIB in November 2016 and chief executive officer of CIB in May 2017, a role he held until August 2024. He was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Standard Bank Group and Chief Executive Officer Standard Bank South Africa effective 1 September 2024. As Deputy Chief Executive, he was the accountable executive for Standard Bank's subsidiaries outside of South Africa.

Qualifications: MSc in Financial Economics (University of London); MBA (University of the Witwatersrand)

Chairman

R (René) van Wyk

René van Wyk

Independent Non-Executive Chairman

René was appointed as the Chairman of Absa Group and Absa Bank effective 15 July 2025.

René originally joined the Absa Group Board as an independent non-executive director on 1 February 2017. He served as the Group Chief Executive from 1 March 2019 to 14 January 2020, re-joined the board as a non-executive director from 1 August 2020 and became an independent non-executive director from 1 August 2021. He was appointed as an independent non-executive director of Absa Bank Limited on 1 February 2022.

He is the Chairman of the Directors’ Affairs Committee (DAC) and a member of the Group Risk and Capital Management Committee (GRCMC), Group Credit Risk Committee (GCRC) and Remuneration Committee (RemCo).

René is the former registrar of Banks and head of banking supervision of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and retired from that position in May 2016.
Prior to that, René was with the Nedbank Group of companies from 1993 to 2011, where he occupied various positions, notably executive director responsible for risk at Nedcor Investment Bank, and CEO of Imperial Bank (a subsidiary of Nedbank).
In his earlier years with KPMG he served as a partner in the financial services group.

René is a non-executive director of Motus Holdings Limited.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Accounting Science (Hons), Advanced Management Programme (Insead), and is a Chartered Accountant, CA (SA).

Executive directors

A K L (Kenny) Fihla

Kenny Fihla

Group Chief Executive Officer

Kenny was appointed as Group Chief Executive Officer and executive director of Absa Group and Absa Bank, effective 17 June 2025.

Kenny is a recognised leader with substantial Pan-African banking experience and a proven track record.

He has nearly 20 years of experience in leadership roles in the banking sector. He joined Standard Bank Group in 2006 as head of Investor Services, Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). In 2008, he was appointed head of Transactional Products and Services, SA, for Standard Bank CIB, whereafter he was appointed deputy chief executive of CIB in November 2016 and chief executive officer of CIB in May 2017, a role he held until August 2024. He was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Standard Bank Group and Chief Executive Officer Standard Bank South Africa effective 1 September 2024. As Deputy Chief Executive, he was the accountable executive for Standard Bank's subsidiaries outside of South Africa.

Qualifications: MSc in Financial Economics (University of London); MBA (University of the Witwatersrand)
D (Deon) Raju

Deon Raju

Group Financial Director

Deon was appointed as Group Financial Director on 26 April 2024 and he joined the Board on the same day.

Prior to this role, he was Absa’s Group Chief Risk Officer from 1 June 2021 and was a member of the Executive Committee and the Group Treasurer 5 years before that, where he was primarily responsible for the liquidity risk, funding, capital, and non-traded market risks of the Group.

He is a member of the Models Committee (MC), Group Risk and Capital Management Committee (GRCMC), Group Credit Risk Committee (GCRC) and Information Technology Committee (ITC).

Deon has been with Absa for over 20 years and has held a variety of roles within the organisation – including roles within Enterprise Risk, Finance, Investment Banking, Credit Portfolio Management and Global Markets. He is a seasoned banking professional with deep institutional knowledge of the Group, as well extensive and diversified banking experience in business, finance and risk management.

Qualifications: B Com (Hons); CA (SA); CFA.

Independent Directors:

T (Tasneem) Abdool-Samad

Tasneem Abdool-Samad

Independent Non-Executive Director

Tasneem has been on the Absa Bank Board as an independent non-executive director since 2016, and joined the Board (Absa Group) as an independent non-executive director on 1 February 2018. She joined the Group Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) on 1 April 2018 and assumed the position of GACC chairman from 4 June 2020. She rejoined the board of Absa Bank Limited as independent non-executive director with effect from 4 June 2020.

Tasneem is also a member of the Group Risk and Capital Management Committee (GRCMC) and Directors’ Affairs Committee (DAC). She is the Chairman of the Absa Financial Services Board.

Tasneem started her career at Deloitte in KwaZulu-Natal. She then moved to the University of the Witwatersrand, where she was a lecturer in auditing from 2003 to 2006. In 2006 she rejoined Deloitte and is a former member of the Deloitte South Africa board.

Tasneem is an independent non-executive chairman of Absa Financial Services Limited, and is a non-executive director of Reunert Limited, and Bid Corporation Limited.

Qualifications: BCom; CA (SA)
R A (Rose) Keanly

Rose Keanly

Independent Non-Executive Director

Rose joined the Absa Group Board as an independent non-executive director on 1 September 2019. She is a member of the Directors’ Affairs Committee (DAC), Information Technology Committee (ITC), Social, Sustainability and Ethics Committee (SSEC), and is the chairman of the Group Remuneration Committee (RemCo) . She has been a member of the Absa Financial Services (AFS) Board since July 2020. She was appointed as an independent non-executive director of Absa Bank Limited with effect from 8 February 2022.

Rose retired as the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Old Mutual Emerging Markets (OMEM) in February 2018, following a career with the Old Mutual group spanning 38 years and various, mainly information technology and operations related, positions. Prior to her position as COO, she was the Managing Director of OMEM Customer Services and Technology. Rose currently also serves as a non-executive director of the Gender-Based Violence Fund (GBVF).

Qualifications: BSc; BCom (Honours).
N P (Peter) Mageza

Peter Mageza

Independent Non-Executive Director

Peter joined the Absa Bank Board as an independent non-executive director on 1 April 2025. He has been on the Absa Group Board as an independent non-executive director since 2023.

He is the chairman of the Information Technology Committee (ITC) and a member of the Group Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC), Remuneration Committee (RemCo) and Directors’ Affairs Committee (DAC).

Peter has served as an independent non-executive director on a number of large listed and unlisted diversified boards across South Africa and on the African continent, including at Remgro Limited and RCL Foods Limited. He is the former Chief Operations Officer and was an executive director of Absa Group and Absa Bank Limited until June 2009.

Qualifications: Chartered Certified Accountant; Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) UK.
N S (Nonhlanhla) Mjoli-Mncube

Nonhlanhla Mjoli-Mncube

Lead Independent Director

Nonhlanhla joined the Absa Group Board as an independent non-executive director on 15 October 2020.
She is the Chairman of the Social, Sustainability and Ethics Committee (SSEC) and a member of the Directors’ Affairs Committee (DAC), and the Group Credit Risk Committee (GCRC).

She was appointed as the lead independent director of the Group and Absa Bank boards with effect from 8 February 2022. She is the former economic advisor to the Presidency, former chairman of the National Urban Reconstruction and Housing Agency and former deputy chair of the Construction Industry Development Board.

Nonhlanhla serves on the board and audit committee of Zeder Investment Limited, is a non-executive director of Zeder Financial Services Limited and has previously served on the boards of several other listed companies including Capitec Bank, WBHO Construction, Cadiz Financial Services, Tongaat Hulett and Pioneer Foods.

Qualifications: Post-Graduate Certificate (Engineering Business Management); Fellowship in Urban Development (MIT); Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.
Paul Smith

Paul Smith

Independent Non-Executive Director

Paul joined the Board as an independent non-executive director on 1 February 2026 and is a member of the Group Risk and Capital Management Committee (GRCMC), Group Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC), Group Credit Risk Committee (GCRC), and Models Committee (MC).

Paul was the Group Chief Risk Officer of the Standard Bank Group from 1999 to 2016. In addition to his risk responsibilities, he was also responsible for internal audit, compliance, governance, group insurance, sustainability, ethics and financial crime.

He spent 21 years with KPMG, involved with and responsible for a number of key clients. In his last 10 years at KPMG, he was a Partner in the Financial Services Group.

Paul has served as an independent non-executive director of Discovery Bank Limited until November 2025.

Qualifications: B.Com (University of Natal - Durban); CA (SA); Advanced Management Programme (Wharton).
Brian Kennedy

Brian Kennedy

Independent Non-Executive Director

Brian joined the Board as an independent non-executive director on 1 February 2026.

He is a member of the Group Risk and Capital Management Committee (GRCMC), Group Credit Risk Committee (GCRC) and Information Technology Committee (ITC).

Brian was the Group Managing Executive for Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking from 2015 to 2020.

He is an experienced leader with 32 years of experience in all facets of wholesale banking, including debt and equity capital markets, corporate banking, private equity, transactional banking and payments, commercial property finance and mergers and acquisitions.

He is currently a non-executive director of Telkom Limited and ARM Limited.

Qualifications: BSc Engineering (Electrical); MSc Eng; Master of Business Administration (MBA) – University of Witwatersrand.