Former Absa CEO Maria Ramos heading to London in new role

Standard Chartered Plc named South African banking veteran Maria Ramos as its next chair, replacing Jose Vinals.
Ramos was picked after an “extensive global search,” the London-headquartered bank said in a statement Tuesday. She joined the Standard Chartered board as an independent non-executive director in January 2021.
Her career has included serving as director-general at the Ministry of Finance under the late President Nelson Mandela and running Absa Group during the lender’s split from Barclays Plc.
“Maria is a proven leader with deep industry experience and strategic vision,” said Standard Chartered Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters.
Vinals has chaired the bank for almost nine years, approaching the maximum recommended term under UK corporate governance rules. Ramos will replace him at the annual meeting on May 8, subject to regulatory approval.
She will relocate to London and step down from her board role at luxury goods company Richemont, Standard Chartered said.
Standard Chartered has pulled out from some parts of Africa in recent years, and is looking to sell units in Botswana, Uganda and Zambia.
The lender has doubled assets under management in its wealth business on the continent in the past three years but that growth has largely been fueled by its business in Kenya and Nigeria.
“I don’t think it has implications for Standard Chartered’s streamlining strategy as she was part of the board as it implemented this strategy,” said Adrienne Damant, banking analyst from Johannesburg-based Avior Capital Markets.
Ramos’s appointment is the latest change at the top at Standard Chartered over the past year or so.
Chief Financial Officer Diego De Giorgi has joined the company, while a reorganization led to corporate, commercial and institutional banking head Simon Cooper exiting. Winters, meanwhile, is the longest serving CEO of a major UK bank.