Absa Group has made several strategic executive appointments. (Image: 123RF)
Absa has made several executive appointments to strengthen leadership capability across the group, bringing onboard tech and telecoms sector leaders.
Among the appointees are M-Pesa Africa MD and Safaricom chief financial services officer Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, and former EOH chief risk officer Fatima Newman.
They are joined by Absa’s Prabashni Naidoo and Rushdi Solomons, who have been transitioned and promoted, respectively, to different roles within the group.
Lopokoiyit will take on the role of chief executive: personal and private banking, effective 1 April, says the bank in a statement.
“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,” says Kenny Fihla, group CEO of Absa.
In his roles at M-Pesa Africa and Safaricom, Lopokoiyit is credited for leading the strategy and growth of the largest fintech platform.
With more than 12 years of experience in fintech, Lopokoiyit has played a central role in scaling M-Pesa, which now serves over 56 million customers and more than five million businesses.
He was appointed to lead M-Pesa Africa, the joint venture between Safaricom and Vodacom, with a mandate to expand the platform’s reach and relevance across African markets.
Fatima Newman, new chief compliance officer at Absa. (Image: Supplied)
He joined Safaricom in 2011, during which he held several senior leadership roles, including head of M-Pesa strategy and business development, and led operations in Tanzania. He also spearheaded the launch of innovations such as the M-Pesa Super App and Fuliza, and strategic partnerships with global platforms, including PayPal and AliPay.
Newman has been appointed as chief compliance officer at Absa, effective 1 March. She previously served as chief risk officer of JSE-listed technology services firm EOH.
According to the statement, Newman brings 28 years of experience across a range of industries, and expertise in risk, compliance, regulatory and governance, and financial services. She has also held senior roles at Absa, EasyHQ and MTN SA.
Naidoo, who currently serves as group chief internal audit executive, will step into a newly-reconstituted role that includes legal, compliance and group secretariat as group chief governance officer, effective 1 March.
She brings experience across audit, risk, regulatory engagement and organisational assurance, according to the bank. “Her leadership and deep institutional knowledge will continue to strengthen governance standards across the group.”
Solomons is promoted to group chief internal audit officer, effective 1 March. He has held the role of managing executive: compliance strategy, regulatory relations and governance, since June 2025. Prior to his current role, he was chief operating officer in group internal audit, a role he held since joining Absa in June 2020.
Before joining Absa, Solomons held roles as partner: Deloitte Risk Advisory; acting business executive: Auditor-General of SA; PwC (advisory, audit and assurance) where he completed his articles.
Fihla concludes: “These appointments reflect the depth of talent within Absa and the strength of our succession planning, as well as our ambition to enhance our organisational resilience by bringing onboard expertise from outside the firm to close the gaps in key capability areas.
“The appointments bring significant depth of experience across legal, regulatory, assurance and control disciplines.”
