By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Absa Group has received regulatory approval to appoint Charles Russon as its interim group CEO, it announced in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
Russon takes the place of Arrie Rautenbach, former CEO, who opted to take early retirement.
Rautenbach enter early retirement on April 15, 2025.
He will cease to be the CEO and an Executive Director, effective 15 October 2024 and will serve a six-month contractual notice period, which will serve as his gardening leave before he retires.
Russon will replace Rautenbach as a member of the Group Risk and Capital Management Committee, Social Sustainability and Ethics Committee, Group Credit Risk Committee and the Information Technology Committee.
Yasmin Masithela replaces Russon as Interim CEO of Absa’s Corporate and Investment Bank.
Both appointments will be effective on 15 October 2024.
Russon joined Absa Capital in 2006 as CFO and has held several senior roles at the group, such as Regional Head of Finance, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Executive of Engineering Services.
He is a chartered accountant and previously wrote articles for KPMG. He also worked for Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank in London and Frankfurt.