By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA’s biggest digital banker, Capitec, said on Friday founding member and CEO Gerrie Fourie is set to retire with effect from 18 July.
Fourie’s retirement marks a significant end of an era for the bank, as the CEO is last of the bank’s founders to exit management.
The bank was launched in 2001 and was founded by a group of executives, including Fourie, Michiel le Roux, Jannie Mouton, and Riaan Stassen.
Le Roux served as the bank’s first CEO until 2004 before switching to board chairman from 2007 to 2016. Stassen took over as CEO from 2004 to 2013, followed by Fourie, who will serve until July 2025.
Capitec’s board credited Fourie for fostering this culture of innovation and growth at the group.
“Fourie has built a strong and diverse leadership team poised to carry the Bank into the future,” the bank said.
“To this end, the executive structure was expanded to establish divisional executive teams responsible for the retail bank, business bank, insurance company and strategic initiatives, leaving a strong senior leadership team enriched with expertise, experience and deep institutional knowledge.”
Capitec executive of retail banking, Graham Lee, 50, will succeed Fourie on 19 July.
Lee has been a member of the group executive team since 2022, and joined Capitec in 2003.
According to the group, he has numerous strategic positions in credit, technology and data, retail operations, and most recently, the Retail Bank division.
Lee holds BBusSci (Hons) and MBA degrees and is a Chartered Management Accountant.
He has over 25 years of working experience in various financial and technology businesses in five different countries, including Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, Australia and Nigeria, in addition to South Africa.
Basani Maluleke will succeed Lee as Group Executive for the personal bank division.
Maluleke, who joined Capitec in 2021, previously served as CEO of African Bank and brings extensive experience from her role as Divisional Executive Operations over the past four years.