After 15 years at PwC, Dale Stonebridge made the move from professional services into banking, taking on the role of CFO for FirstRand’s Commercial and Corporate Bank in May 2026. He reflects on the career decisions, family values and lessons in leadership that have shaped him.
For Dale Stonebridge, becoming a CFO was an ambition he had been exposed to from an early age, having watched his father build a career in finance. But his own journey took a few turns along the way, from aspiring audit partner to business leader. After 15 years at PwC, he made the move into banking, stepping into the role of CFO for FirstRand’s Commercial and Corporate Bank in May 2026. CFO South Africa caught up with Dale to find out more about the person behind the title, the influences that shaped his career and the values he carries into leadership.
Who is Dale Stonebridge beyond the CFO title? What should people know about the person behind the role?
At my core, I am a husband and a father. While my career has always been important to me, my family grounds me and provides perspective on what truly matters. I am a values-driven person who believes that how you achieve success is just as important as the success itself. Behind the finance and governance discussions is someone with a softer side who genuinely cares about people, relationships and helping others succeed.
What was your upbringing like, and what early experiences shaped your ambitions?
I grew up in Zimbabwe in a household where education, discipline and hard work were highly valued. My mother was a teacher, and my father was an audit partner at PriceWaterhouse before moving into industry and serving in a number of CFO roles. Watching their dedication to their professions shaped my work ethic from an early age. I was fortunate to see both the importance of technical excellence and the value of integrity, lessons that continue to guide me today.
When you were younger, did you imagine yourself becoming a CFO, or did your career take a different path from the one you expected?
Interestingly, becoming a CFO was always on my radar growing up because I had a front-row seat to my father's career. However, when I started my own career in audit, my ambitions shifted. I became fascinated by the profession and was determined to become an audit partner. Over time, I realised that while I loved the technical aspects of audit, I was increasingly drawn to broader commercial decision-making, leadership and shaping the direction of businesses. That ultimately led me back to the CFO path when the opportunity presented itself.
Who has had the greatest influence on your life, and what is the most valuable lesson they taught you?
Without question, my parents have been the greatest influence on my life. My father taught me the importance of integrity, professionalism and earning trust over a lifetime. My mother demonstrated the power of investing in people. Together they taught me that success should never come at the expense of your values and that your reputation is one of the most important assets you will ever have.
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On the back of a successful Visionary CFO Series in 2021 and 2022, 2024, A2X has once again partnered with CFO South Africa to bring you a series of interviews highlighting South Africa’s best and brightest CFOs, their insights and challenges. Find out how they help lead some of South Africa’s most successful companies in this bi-weekly interview series. |
You spent around 15 years at PwC. What did that chapter of your life teach you about yourself, and why was it the right time to move on?
PwC was an incredible chapter of my life. It taught me the importance of excellence, resilience and continuous learning. More importantly, it helped me realise how deeply motivated I am by serving clients, solving complex problems and mentoring people. While I thoroughly enjoyed audit work and PwC there came an opportunity to have a more direct impact on strategy, people and outcomes which made it the right time to move on.
What has been the defining moment of your career so far, and how did it change the way you approach your work?
The transition from professional services into this role was probably the defining moment of my career. It shifted my perspective from evaluating decisions to making them. It taught me that leadership often requires balancing competing priorities with imperfect information and that progress is sometimes more important than perfection. It also reinforced the importance of relationships and influence in driving outcomes.
What is the toughest professional decision you have had to make, and what did you learn from it?
The toughest decisions are always the “people” decisions. Whether it is changing a team, making difficult performance calls or navigating organisational change, those decisions have real human consequences. Those experiences taught me that leadership requires courage, transparency and empathy. Avoiding difficult conversations rarely helps anyone but handling them with dignity and respect matters enormously.
How would your family and friends describe you, and how different is that person from the Dale your colleagues see at work?
My family and friends would probably describe me as loyal, dependable, fairly competitive and someone who cares deeply about the people close to me. At work, colleagues may initially see a more focused and results-oriented side because of the responsibilities that come with leadership. However, I would like to think the values are exactly the same in both environments. The person is not different. The context simply demands different aspects of who I am.
