Absa appoints new executive director

Absa Group chief operations officer Peter Mageza has been appointed as an executive director on the boards of Absa Group and Absa Bank, with effect from 10 September 2007.

Mageza who has been with the Absa Group since 2000, was appointed as COO three years ago. He takes over from Pieter van der Merwe who retired from Absa last year.

In his role as COO, Mageza  is responsible for overseeing the Group's support functions: Group Strategy and Planning, Group Change and Support Services, Group Information Technology; Group Communication and Public Relations, Group Black Economic Empowerment, Government Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility; Group Human Resources; Group Sourcing, Group Operations, Information Management and Group Payment Systems.

Commenting on Mageza's appointment, Absa Group Chairperson Gill Marcus says she is looked forward to working with Mageza as a board member, adding: "Peter will bring his unique insights and skills to the board and will make an invaluable contribution."

Mageza joined Absa as managing executive of Bankfin, which was later re-branded to Absa Vehicle and Assets Finance (AVAF). In 2003 he was appointed to the group executive committee and became the CE of the AVAF division.

It was during his tenure as head of AVAF that he successfully managed the integration of Bankfin into the Absa Group and saved the banking group almost R20m a year, with profitability growing by 528% over five years.

Absa Group chief executive Steve Booysen says, "Peter has a wealth of wisdom and insight into business and banking in general, and he will be a valuable and meaningful member to the boards.  My best of wishes to Peter with his new added responsibilities."

Following the Absa/Barclays deal, Mageza was called upon to head the African operations, which he did successfully. He managed the renegotiation of purchase and sale agreement of Banco Austral in Mozambique, resulting in the resolution of a matter that threatened the going concern status of the bank.

A Chartered Accountant by training and a fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, Mageza, began his career in the auditing environment at Coopers & Lybrand SA as senior audit supervisor and manager.

He also held several senior management positions within the Transnet group, including being executive manager of Tour Express and CEO of Autonet. Later, he moved into financial services and joined Nedcor's Technology and Operations Process Management division, before moving to Absa.