ABSA are now losing their 6th CEO in 6 years as Mr Arrie Rautenbach, has decided to take early retirement, cutting his time with the bank shorter than initially planned.
After spending over 27 years at ABSA and only stepping into the CEO role in March 2022, he will now be finishing up his time with the bank.
Following discussions with the ABSA board, it was agreed that Rautenbach will step down in October 2024 (and he will officially ‘retire’ in April 2025 after serving a six-month notice period… probably the type where you don’t have to come into the office or anything).
Why The Early Departure?
Some reports suggest that Mr Rautenbach faced internal challenges, including some sort of alleged confrontation or outburst during a leadership conference and it is said that he has faced a loss of confidence among some senior executives.
It must be noted that ABSA has denied these claims, calling them exaggerated, yet the reporting in the press does hint that there are some underlying tensions within the company and someone is talking about it to the media.
Who Will Steer ABSA Next?
To ensure a smooth transition, Absa has appointed Charles Russon as Interim CEO, starting October 2024, subject to regulatory approval.
Mr Russon, has been with the bank since 2006 and is currently leading the corporate and investment banking unit.
He will now pass his responsibilities there over to Yasmin Masithela as he steps into the Interim CEO role.
So, it seems that ABSA unfortunately continue to struggle to find a long lasting CEO to steer the ship for longer than a year or two. Interestingly, the announcement actually drove ABSA share prices up at first. So investors were happy with the news.
Being ABSA CEO is certainly a lucrative post and it is reported that Mr Rautenbach earned around R40 million in 2023 (which works out to something like R109 000 each day)