Kenny Fihla: Johannesburg-born banker leading $125 billion pan-African banking giant, Absa Group

Kenny Fihla, the Johannesburg-born banking executive now steering Absa Group, sits at the centre of one of Africa’s most closely watched financial institutions, a pan-African lender with total assets of over $125 billion. His rise to the top of the group reflects a career shaped by early exposure to varied South African communities, a shift from engineering into finance, and nearly two decades spent inside the continent’s most competitive banking corridors.

Born in Johannesburg and raised partly in the Free State town of Vrede and later in Johannesburg, Fihla grew up in a large family of eight siblings. He has often pointed to the way his early years moved between different parts of South Africa, including time spent in the Eastern Cape, as formative in shaping how he views social and economic realities. Those experiences, grounded in movement between communities and household responsibilities, would later inform his approach to leadership in financial services, where context and access have long defined outcomes for customers and institutions alike.

Engineering roots to banking leadership

His academic path began in mechanical engineering, a field he pursued before transitioning into finance and economics. That pivot came after an early career that was not linked to banking. In the 1980s, he worked in the trade union movement during a period marked by political and economic change in South Africa. Following the country’s transition in 1994, he returned from Zimbabwe, where he had studied mechanical engineering, and joined the public sector at the City of Johannesburg. There, his work increasingly centered on financial management and infrastructure funding, a shift that would shape his long-term professional direction.

Fihla has described his time working on the City of Johannesburg’s finances in the late 1990s as one of the most demanding periods of his career, particularly through efforts tied to stabilizing and restructuring municipal finances. It was during this period that he deepened his focus on public finance and economic development, later formalizing his academic foundation with an MSc in financial economics from the University of London and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand. His move into banking came in 2006 when he joined Standard Bank Group as head of Investor Services within its Corporate and Investment Banking division.

From CIB head to Absa Group CEO 

Over time, he moved through senior leadership roles, becoming head of Transactional Products and Services for South Africa in 2008. By November 2016, he was appointed deputy chief executive of Corporate and Investment Banking, and in May 2017 he became chief executive officer of the division, a role he held until August 2024. During his tenure, he oversaw one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest corporate and investment banking businesses, reporting annual turnover of more than R60 billion ($3.6 billion) in 2022, with operations spanning 20 African countries and representation in London, New York, Dubai, and Beijing.

In September 2024, he was appointed deputy chief executive of Standard Bank Group and chief executive officer of Standard Bank South Africa, with responsibility extending to subsidiaries outside South Africa. Across these roles, his reputation within the institution was shaped by work in business turnaround situations and operational restructuring, alongside oversight of large-scale regional banking operations. That experience culminated in his appointment as Group CEO of Absa on June 17, 2025. His arrival marked a period in which the bank emphasized execution discipline, efficiency in operations, and tighter capital allocation.

Fihla drives Absa earnings, balance sheet

Under his leadership in the 2025 financial year, Absa reported headline earnings growth of 12 percent to R24.8 billion ($1.5 billion), while net asset value rose 8 percent to R172 billion ($10.42 billion). Return on equity improved to 15 percent, compared with 14.8 percent in the prior period. The group also reported a stronger balance sheet position over the period under review. Total assets increased from R2.07 trillion ($125.5 billion) as of December 31, 2024, to R2.24 trillion ($135.8 billion) in 2025. Total equity rose from R183.3 billion ($11.11 billion) to R191.4 billion ($11.6 billion), while retained earnings increased from R139.2 billion ($8.44 billion) to R148.8 billion ($9.02 billion). 

Fihla’s compensation package further reflects the scale of responsibility tied to his role. His total awarded remuneration, including buyout awards, amounted to R148.04 million ($8.97 million), placing him among Africa’s most highly compensated banking executives. Now at the helm of Absa, Fihla’s leadership sits at the intersection of decades of public sector experience, investment banking execution, and regional financial oversight. His career, spanning trade unions, municipal finance, and corporate banking leadership, has brought him to a position where he oversees one of Africa’s largest financial institutions, managing a balance sheet anchored in $125 billion-plus in assets and operating across multiple markets on the continent.