By Nqobile Dludla.
Absa Group announced on Wednesday that Sello Moloko will step down as chairman of the bank on 15 July to make way for new leadership, and René van Wyk will succeed him, subject to regulatory approval.
Moloko said he had decided to quit after the board “dealt with several challenges in 2024”, appointed a new chief executive and launched a restructure of Absa’s retail model.
“I feel the time is ripe now for me to refocus my attention on my family, my community commitments and the several personal business initiatives outside the group that I need to drive,” he added.
Van Wyk was interim group CEO in 2019 and rejoined the Absa board as a non-executive director in 2020.
“The organisation is well-positioned to advance its strategic priorities, and I look forward to contributing to its growth and success, alongside a strong management team,” Van Wyk said.
Van Wyk 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.
Before that, he 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).
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Accounting Science (Hons), Advanced Management Programme (Insead), and is a Chartered Accountant, CA (SA).