Absa’s aggressive hiring spree from Standard Bank is continuing as the lender accelerates its pan-African growth strategy under group CEO Kenny Fihla. The latest senior appointment is investment banker Sola Adegbesan, who is set to leave Standard Bank after 24 years to join Absa next month.
Absa confirmed that Adegbesan has been appointed managing executive for CIB Africa Regions, effective July 1, 2026. In this role, he will report to Zaid Moola, chief executive of Absa Corporate and Investment Banking, and will be based in Johannesburg. His responsibilities will include driving the execution of Absa’s corporate and investment banking strategy across African regions, overseeing operations, managing regulatory engagement and supporting expansion into both existing and new markets on the continent.
Adegbesan is joining a leadership team that already includes several former Standard Bank executives. He previously worked with Moola in Standard Bank’s global markets division, where Adegbesan served as head of global markets clients for Africa. That role gave him oversight of client teams across all 19 African countries in which Standard Bank operates, as well as in London and New York.
His move adds to a growing list of senior Standard Bank figures who have crossed to Absa since Fihla left Standard Bank to become Absa group CEO. Moola followed soon after, taking up the CIB leadership role at Absa. Other former Standard Bank executives who have joined Absa include Musa Motloung, now group strategic risk officer; Avikaar Ramphal, head of strategic risk; Clive Potter, managing executive for client coverage in CIB; and Francisco Khoza, who became deputy group general counsel after serving as head of legal in Standard Bank’s CIB unit.
Absa has also recruited senior leaders from outside Standard Bank, including Saloshni Pillay from Deutsche Bank and Giles Douglas from Rothschild & Co, reflecting a broader effort to strengthen its leadership bench across key business areas.
The bank’s ambitions are substantial. Absa has set a target of doubling the revenue of its corporate and investment banking division, with its Africa operations expected to drive much of that growth. The division generated R37 billion in revenue in the 2025 financial year and posted profit of R13 billion. Doubling that revenue would imply a target of about R74 billion.
The latest appointment comes shortly after Absa named former Standard Bank senior executive Leon Barnard to lead its pan-African business banking unit. Barnard had left Standard Bank two years earlier.
Fihla has also moved to reshape Absa’s personal and private banking segment, appointing M-Pesa executive Sitoyo Lopokoiyit to lead the business. The Kenyan-born executive took up the role in April.
Together, the appointments show Absa deepening its leadership transformation as it pursues a larger footprint across Africa and seeks to compete more aggressively in corporate, investment and retail banking.
