Absa appoints new group executives

Source: Supplied. Sydney Mbhele, Absa group chief brand, marketing and corporate affairs officer.

“The appointments build on the positive momentum that was achieved through executive committee changes and an operating model refinement earlier this year,” said Absa group chief executive officer, Arrie Rautenbach.

“The appointments strengthen our leadership team, adding to the bench of skill, experience and diversity appropriate to, and supportive of our ambition to be a leading Pan-African bank,” he said.

The appointments include:

• Jeanett Modise, Absa group chief people officer: Modise is an accomplished human resources (HR) professional with extensive experience at executive level, driving HR strategy, operations, turnaround and digital transformation in local and global organisations. Modise has worked with executive teams and Boards for more than 20 years and has held several Board positions.
• Johnson Idesoh, Absa group chief information and technology officer: Idesoh has 25 years of experience in leading digitalisation in regulated industries and a proven track record in delivering and embedding digital strategies that improve customer experience and increase digital customer numbers. He is recognised in the Global CIO 100 for 2022.
• Sydney Mbhele, Absa group chief brand, marketing and corporate affairs officer: Mbhele has a 25-year career in the brand-building and marketing sector, working at blue-chip companies. He was nominated as 2022 marketer of the year (South Africa) and rated as a top five chief marketing officer in Africa and the Middle East in 2021.

All three executives have significant experience, having operated across multiple markets on the continent and elsewhere.

“We have made significant progress in delivering on our strategic agenda and in strengthening our leadership and organisational capability this year,” said Rautenbach. “We are well positioned for commercial out-performance going forward.”