Chrisanthi Michaelides’s appointment as acting CEO follows the resignation of Bennie van Rooy.
Access Bank South Africa has announced the appointment of its CFO Chrisanthi Michaelides as its new acting CEO following the resignation of Bennie van Rooy, who is pursuing other career opportunities.
According to the company, Chrisanthi has been a driving force behind Access Bank’s acquisition of Grobank. During the transition, her expertise was focused on cementing the bank’s sub-Saharan footprint as the groundbreaking African Continental Free Trade Agreement works towards regional integration.
“South Africa is the perfect space for a truly pan-African bank like Access Bank to enter what is set to be an exciting time on the African continent,” says Chrisanthi. “We are working on ways to embrace the treaty and offer our clients a prosperous future through access to a single market.”
Access Bank South Africa acting chairman Patrick Mathidi says it is indicative of the bank’s core belief in equality within its operations that they chose a woman as acting CEO. “Across all spheres of our business, individuals are chosen purely on their abilities. Chrisanthi is highly skilled in the financial area, with robust knowledge of the banking sector in Africa. We wish her well in this acting position.”
Chrisanthi's appointment is effective immediately, subject to South African Prudential Authority approval.