Kenny Fihla takes on dual roles in Standard Bank’s executive reshuffle

Source: Standard Bank Group. Kenny Fihla, the new CEO of Standard Bank South Africa.

With approvals from the board and the Prudential Authority, Kenny Fihla has been appointed deputy chief executive of SBG and chief executive of The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (SBSA). He will oversee both SBSA and the group’s Africa Regions and Offshore businesses.

Fihla will continue to report to the group’s chief executive Sim Tshabalala.

With the support of the board, the approval of the Prudential Authority, and having completed the requisite governance processes, Luvuyo Masinda is appointed as chief executive of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), to succeed Kenny Fihla. Masinda will report to group chief executive Sim Tshabalala.

Masinda joined Standard Bank in 2007 in the finance function and has held the roles of chief financial officer, chief risk officer, and head of client coverage for CIB, before being appointed as its deputy chief executive in October 2023.

Lungisa Fuzile, current chief executive of SBSA, will now take up two roles, the first being Group Head: Public Policy and Regulation. He will also assume the role of regional chief executive of the group’s Southern & Central Region of the Africa Regions portfolio.

Yinka Sanni, current chief executive of Standard Bank Africa Regions and Offshore, will take on the role of group executive, leading the group’s relationships with some of its top clients and regulators. In addition to these duties, Sanni will support Fihla in refining the structure of the Africa regions and Offshore businesses.

Lungisa Fuzile and Yinka Sanni will report to deputy group chief executive Kenny Fihla.

These appointments, which came into effect from 1 September 2024, enable the group's executive team to focus more precisely on its mandates and to continue to develop its expertise and its networks. These changes will also assist in the ongoing process of ensuring that SBG has the number and depth of executives it needs to maintain and extend SBG’s success into the future.

Further, these changes continue the process of allocating senior expertise to the areas of highest potential growth and, therefore, increasing capital allocation.

Leadership and vision

Group chief executive Sim Tshabalala says, “Kenny Fihla is a most experienced and successful executive – a leader’s leader of immense effectiveness, having served the group in various senior executive roles over the past 18 years. I look forward to working even more closely in partnership with Fihla as we develop and execute the group’s strategy. I have no doubt that the group’s subsidiary network will continue to flourish and expand under Fihla’s leadership.

"Lungisa Fuzile has been an outstandingly successful leader of SBSA and has remarkable wisdom and extensive experience in leadership, management, finance, economics, public policy, and regulatory matters. Yinka Sanni has led Africa Regions and Offshore with distinction and has exceptionally broad banking, management, and leadership skills, combined with Africa-wide experience. I am delighted that we will continue to be able to draw on Fuzile’s and Sanni’s talents in their new capacities.”

Deputy group chief executive Kenny Fihla says, “It is my great pleasure to pass the baton at CIB to Luvuyo Masinda. Masinda is an exceptionally talented and accomplished executive. I am sure that he will lead CIB to new heights.”

Masinda says, “I am honoured to be appointed as Fihla’s successor. He has built the strongest and most successful Corporate and Investment Banking business in Africa, and I am determined to extend his legacy.”