Retail bank Absa Group has announced that its chief executive, Arrie Rautenbach, will vacate his position on October 15.
The bank, however, announced that after stepping aside from his role as CEO and executive director of the boards, Rautenbach will serve a six-month contractual notice period as garden leave.
Rautenbach leaves after he was appointed in March 2022, nearly 12 months following the premature departure of Daniel Mminele, Absa Group’s first CEO.
In a statement to shareholders released on the JSE’s Stock News Service on Monday, Absa said that the decision comes after engagements between the board and Rautenbach, which resulted in  the parties agreeing that he will take early retirement, effective April 15, 2025.
“He will continue to serve the group in his current role. The board, on behalf of the group, thanks Arrie for his commitment and extensive contribution to Absa over a career spanning more than 27 years and wishes him well in his retirement,” reads the statement.
Interim CEO of Absa Group
The group stated that Charles Russon will become interim CEO of Absa Group and Absa Bank effective October 15.
“His acting appointment is, however, subject to regulatory approval. He will also become an executive director on the boards.
“Charles has been chief executive of Absa’s Corporate and Investment Bank [CIB] since 2018 and a group executive committee member since 2014.
“He joined Absa Capital in 2006 as chief financial officer and has held numerous senior roles in the group, including regional head of finance for Absa Group and chief operating
officer for Absa Group and chief executive: engineering services for Absa Group.
“Charles completed his articles with KPMG and then worked for Merrill Lynch in
London and Deutsche Bank in London and Frankfurt.
“He is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Rhodes University.”
Interim CEO of Absa’s CIB appointed
The bank also announced that Yasmin Masithela will become interim CEO of Absa’s CIB effective October 15, subject to regulatory approval.
Reads the statement: “Yasmin is currently managing executive: corporate transactional banking [CIB] and has been in that role since May 2019.
“She previously held positions on the group executive committee as chief executive strategic services and chief compliance officer, respectively.
“Yasmin holds a BA and LLB [from the University of Cape Town] and a Higher Diploma in Company Law, LLM and Tax Law [from the University of the Witwatersrand].”
Business Times reported in May that Rautenbach was facing a revolt from his executives who were opposed to his plan to remove Saviour Chibiya, the head of regional operations, after his division’s exceptional performance.
He also wanted to ring in changes to the group’s executive structure, which were made public in April.
