Absa’s board has appointed former Standard Bank deputy CEO Kenny Fihla as the new chief executive on Monday, after he resigned suddenly from his former employer on Sunday night.
Absa said Fihla’s appointment as CEO was effective from June 17, 2025, while its current interim CEO Charles Russon will stay on in that role until Fihla takes over, and will work closely with the new CEO to ensure a smooth transition, after which Russon will take a key senior role within the group executive committee.
“Standard Bank Group announces that after 18 years of service to the group, Kenny Fihla, the group’s deputy chief executive and chief executive of SBSA, has tendered his resignation, with his last day in office being Friday, 13 June 2025,” a statement from Standard Bank, released on Monday morning, said.
“Kenny is a recognised leader with substantial Pan-African banking experience and a proven track record. He has almost 20 years of experience in leadership roles in banking. He joined Standard Bank group in 2006 and had held numerous senior roles including CEO of CIB, Deputy CEO of Standard Bank Group and CEO of Standard Bank South Africa,” Absa said in a statement.
Absa’s share price rose 2.7% to R189.19 in early trade on the JSE on Monday, while Standard Bank’s was steady at R237.99. Absa has been looking for a permanent CEO since Arrie Rautenbach took early retirement in October 2024, amid internal disagreements about the slow pace of transformation.
Standard Bank said Fihla, who had been tipped as a potential successor of Standard Bank’s current CEO Sim Tshabalala, would take gardening leave as of Monday. Fihla holds a master’s in financial economics from the University of London and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand.
“Whilst this is a heavy blow for us, the group is blessed with a surfeit of talent and deep succession pools. Further announcements in respect of the leadership of our geographies will be made in due course,” the statement said.
Fihla was replaced as CEO of the CIB unit in August last year when he became deputy group CEO, with Luvuyo Masinda becoming CEO of that division. “Under Fihla’s leadership, the CIB unit doubled headline earnings to R20.5 billion between 2017 and 2024,” Standard Bank said.
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