New Head for Nedbank - 03-19-09

March 19 - Nedbank, one of South Africa's leading banks which offers a wide range of financial services, including car and home loans, has appointed its new Chief Executive Officer.

Mike Brown, who has been with Nedbank for many years, will replace the outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Tom Boardman upon his retirement next year.

Boardman has served as CEO of Nedbank since 2003, after the company went through a bad financial patch due to ill calculated acquisitions that were affected by the dot com crash and a drop in foreign income.

Boardman's initial contract to act as Chief Executive Officer was signed until 2007, but that was further extended to 2010, to allow Nedbank to find him a replacement and give Boardman time to work with his successor and 'ease him into the job'.

Mike Brown currently serves as Nedbank's Chief Financial Officer and has plenty of insight into the upper echelons of Nedbank.

"As Chief Financial Officer, Mike has worked very closely with the board and the Chief Executive over the past five years," said the chairman of the bank, Reuel Khoza in an official statement this week.

Several eyebrows may be raised about the choice, simply because Mike? Brown is not black. "Some observers were perhaps looking for a Black appointment," said one industry analyst.

However, CEO Reuel Khoza said that after a search that included international sources, the bank whittled down the choice to just two, and Brown was found to be the most compatible for the role.