Digital transformation expert joins African Bank

Source: Supplied. John-Paul (JP) Okkers', African Bank's new Head: Digital Channel.

He reports to Shannon Timothy, Divisional Head: Customer Channels.

Okkers, who started this month, brings with him a wealth of expertise and a proven track record in driving digital and technological transformation within the financial services industry.

He will play a key role in advancing African Bank’s strategic mission of fostering financial inclusion through innovative and customer-centric digital solutions.

Commenting on this significant addition to African Bank’s leadership team, Sibongiseni Ngundze, chief executive officer of personal banking, stated: "We are thrilled to welcome JP Okkers to African Bank at such a pivotal moment in our journey to becoming a digitally-enabled bank.

"Okkers’ deep expertise and visionary leadership will be instrumental in helping us execute on our Excelerate25 strategy.

"His appointment reaffirms our commitment to leveraging digitisation as a means of bringing essential financial services to the under-served and creating seamless, inclusive banking experiences for all our customers."

Okkers joins African Bank from Absa, where he held the position of head of digital for Africa regional operations: Bancassurance & Insurance. In this role, he led initiatives to establish, drive, and enhance Absa’s digital ecosystem, encompassing UX design, integration layers, Cloud deployments, and back-end systems.

Okkers’ career has been defined by innovation and excellence in digital transformation, technology solutions delivery, and product portfolio management. With a Master’s Degree in digital business from Wits Business School and a Prince2 Practitioner certification, Okkers is equipped to spearhead African Bank’s efforts to redefine digital banking in South Africa.

"We are confident that Okkers' leadership will accelerate our journey to delivering on our purpose of humanity through banking," Ngundze said. "Please join us in extending a warm welcome to him as he embarks on this exciting new chapter at African Bank."