Absa Group has announced a series of strategic executive leadership appointments aimed at strengthening its organisational capability, governance framework and customer-led growth ambitions across the continent.
The changes follow the finalisation of the Group’s refocused Pan-African Strategy and underscore its commitment to enhanced strategic execution, succession planning and deeper leadership bench strength.
Sitoyo Lopokoiyit Appointed Chief Executive: Personal and Private Banking
Absa has appointed Sitoyo Lopokoiyit as Chief Executive: Personal and Private Banking, effective 1 April 2026.
Lopokoiyit is widely recognised as one of Africa’s leading fintech executives, bringing extensive experience in financial services, telecommunications, customer value propositions and large-scale business transformation.
He most recently served as Managing Director of M-PESA Africa and Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom, where he led the strategy and growth of Africa’s largest fintech platform. Under his leadership, M-PESA scaled to serve over 56 million customers and more than 5 million businesses across the continent.
Since joining Safaricom in 2011, Lopokoiyit held several senior leadership roles, including Head of M-PESA Strategy and Business Development, and led operations in Tanzania. He also spearheaded major innovations such as the M-PESA Super App, Fuliza, and partnerships with global platforms including PayPal and Alipay.
His contribution to advancing financial inclusion earned him induction into the 11:FS Hall of Fame, recognising industry leaders who have significantly transformed financial services through innovation and resilience.
Commenting on the appointment, Kenny Fihla, Group Chief Executive Officer of Absa Group, said:
“This appointment demonstrates Absa’s strategic focus on delivering integrated, customer-centric solutions across our Personal and Private Banking franchise while unlocking new growth opportunities.”
Strengthening Governance and Assurance Leadership
In line with Absa’s commitment to robust governance and regulatory excellence, several additional appointments have been confirmed, effective 1 March 2026.
Prabashni Naidoo, currently Group Chief Internal Audit Executive, will transition into a newly reconstituted role as Group Chief Governance Officer, overseeing Legal, Compliance and Group Secretariat. Naidoo brings deep experience across audit, risk, regulatory engagement and organisational assurance, and is expected to further strengthen governance standards across the Group.
Meanwhile, Rushdi Solomons has been promoted to Group Chief Internal Audit Officer. Solomons previously served as Managing Executive: Compliance Strategy, Regulatory Relations and Governance, and before that as Chief Operating Officer in Group Internal Audit. His earlier career includes senior roles at Deloitte, Auditor-General of South Africa, and PwC, where he completed his articles.
Additionally, Fatima Newman has been appointed Chief Compliance Officer. With 28 years of experience across risk, compliance, regulatory and governance disciplines, Newman has held senior roles at EOH Group Limited, EasyHQ, Absa, and MTN South Africa. She is recognised for her systems-thinking leadership approach and ability to implement fit-for-purpose governance solutions in complex environments.
Building a Future-Fit Leadership Team
Fihla emphasised that the appointments reflect both strong internal succession planning and the strategic introduction of external expertise to close key capability gaps.
“We are building a future-fit leadership team, deepening our bench strength, and ensuring the right capabilities are in place to deliver on our strategic ambitions. The appointments bring significant depth across legal, regulatory, assurance and control disciplines, supporting Absa’s commitment to a strong and resilient governance framework.”
These leadership changes signal Absa’s determination to accelerate customer-centric innovation, reinforce governance standards and execute its Pan-African growth strategy with strengthened executive capability.
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