Absa Group Limited (AGL) announces changes in Executive Committee
- Experienced investment banker, Charles Russon appointed Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking
- Paul O’ Flaherty steps down from Board, joins the Group Executive Committee as Chief Executive: Engineering Services
Absa Group Limited today announces the appointment of Charles Russon as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Corporate and Investment Banking, and Paul O’Flaherty as Chief Executive: Engineering Services. Both appointments are effective 5 November 2018.
The appointments are both subject to regulatory approvals.
The appointments are a significant step forward in the Absa Group’s implementation of its new operating model that was announced in April, with four core businesses, each headed by a chief executive. These are Retail and Business Banking (RBB); Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB); Rest of Africa; Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance (WIMI).
Russon has had a long career in corporate and investment banking with global and local exposure. He worked for Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank in Europe before joining Absa Capital as CFO in 2006. He later became CIB Chief Operating Officer (COO) before taking up a role as Regional Head of Finance for the Group in 2012.
Russon has been a member of the Absa Group (previously Barclays Africa Group) executive committee since January 2014. He is currently the Chief Executive for Engineering Services, and his responsibilities include overseeing the group’s technology infrastructure, data and security.
The bank has also appointed Paul O’Flaherty as Chief Executive for Engineering Services, and he will join the Group Executive committee. O’Flaherty will step down from the Board, of which he has been a non-executive director since January 2016. As CE of Engineering Services, O’Flaherty will be responsible for Technology, Data, Security, and the Separation program.
O’Flaherty was most recently Chief Executive Officer of Al Naboodah Group Enterprises in the United Arab Emirates. He is also a former Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal South Africa and Finance Director of Eskom.
“I am pleased that we have appointed two highly experienced executives in roles that are critical to how we take our new strategy forward. Our CIB business is an important driver of our growth ambitions across the continent while engineering services is central to the transformation of our business into a digitally-led bank in line with our strategy,” said Absa Group Chief Executive Officer, Maria Ramos.
