Rothschild executive Douglas joins top deals recruits at Absa

Rothschild & Co South Africa Managing Director and Africa Co-Head Giles Douglas will join lender Absa Group as the continent’s third-largest bank builds a team to boost its competitiveness and win market share.

Douglas will start as managing executive of Absa’s investment bank on July 27, the lender said in response to questions. He will report to Zaid Moola, who was also recently hired from Standard Bank Group as chief of corporate and investment banking.

“Giles brings more than 30 years of investment-banking experience,” Absa managing executive for group communications Daniel Munslow said. “He has deep expertise across mergers and acquisitions, strategic advisory and capital structuring, supporting clients through growth, transformation and value creation in diverse market environments.”

The appointment follows a string of high-level selections by Absa Chief Executive Officer Kenny Fihla. The lender most recently hired Deutsche Bank AG South Africa CEO and country manager Saloshni Pillay to lead its investment bank in the country.

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At Rothschild, Douglas headed some of the largest recent African transactions.

These include Anglo American Plc’s separation of its platinum business that’s now known as Valterra Platinum and Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s sale of Engen. He has also been engaged in the sale of Shell Plc’s downstream assets in South Africa, among other deals.

As part of Fihla’s strategy to regain market share, the CEO previously said he sought more deals to grow the bank’s footprint in Africa. His line-up of high-level executives indicates that the lender is heading for a serious deal streak and market-share grab.

Absa has had six CEOs since 2019. Since Fihla’s appointment in June last year, its shares have climbed about 30%, outpacing a 20% gain in the FTSE/JSE Banks Index over the same period.

The Johannesburg-based lender, which has a presence in 12 African countries, recently acquired Standard Chartered Plc’s Ugandan unit and HSBC Holdings Plc’s retail and business-banking portfolio in Mauritius.

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Other senior executives poached in recent months include Standard Bank’s Clive Potter to head client coverage at the investment bank.

Musa Motloung, also hired from Standard Bank, took over as the group’s strategic risk officer while M-PESA Africa Managing Director Sitoyo Lopokoiyit is heading personal and private banking.

South Africa, the largest economy on the continent, also saw other movements in among top banking executives, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s André Ross joining Citigroup Inc. to be its country officer and banking head locally.

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