Absa CEO Arrie Rautenbach to Retire Following Profit Decline in H1 2024

Absa CEO Arrie Rautenbach is set to leave the group following a drop in the company’s profits for the six months ending 30 June 2024 (H1 2024). Absa announced that Rautenbach and the board had mutually agreed on his early retirement, which will take effect on 15 April 2025. Additionally, he will step down as CEO and Executive Director on 15 October 2024. Rautenbach will serve a six-month contractual notice period as garden leave before his official retirement.

The group expressed gratitude for Rautenbach’s commitment and extensive contributions over his 27-year career with Absa, wishing him well in his retirement.

Charles Russon will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer of Absa Group and Absa Bank, starting from 15 October 2024, pending regulatory approval. He will also join the boards as an executive director. Russon, who has served as the Chief Executive of Absa’s Corporate and Investment Bank (CIB) since 2018 and has been a member of the Group Executive Committee since 2014, has held several senior positions within Absa since joining the company in 2006.

Yasmin Masithela will succeed Russon as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Absa’s CIB, effective 15 October 2024, subject to regulatory approval. Masithela, currently Managing Executive Corporate Transactional Banking at CIB, has been in her role since May 2019 and has previously held other significant positions within the Group Executive Committee.

Rautenbach’s early retirement follows a 9% decrease in Absa’s basic earnings per share. The group also reported a 6% decline in headline earnings per share. Despite these declines, the group’s total income increased by 3%, and it maintained its interim dividend at 685 cents per share.

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