PHALABORWA- A lot of people were caught by surprise when the news broke that Daniel Mminele would be the first black chief executive officer of ABSA.
He was born in 1965 in Phalaborwa, but went to school in Germany and received a German banking qualification, and a degree from London Guildhall University.
After working in the banking sector in the UK and Germany, he returned to South Africa in 1995 to join Commerzbank in Johannesburg.
He then briefly worked at African Merchant Bank, before joining the Reserve Bank in September 1999.
He served in the bank’s financial markets and international banking departments, before being appointed as deputy governor responsible for financial markets and international economic relations.
Mminele was, among others, a member of the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy and financial stability committee.
He is married with two children.
In January 2018, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier bestowed the Great Order of Merit to Mminele for his work in furthering German-South African relations.
The Great Order of Merit is the highest honour Germany can pay to an individual for services to the country.
According to a Pretoria News article, the German ambassador in South Africa described him as being half-German in “his life and his heart”. The newspaper reports that he is known in the Reserve Bank as “the German” because of his punctuality and precision.
Mminele was responsible for financial markets and international-economic relations at the central bank, where he served two five-year terms as deputy governor.
He was seen as one of the favorites to succeed Gill Marcus as head of the Reserve Bank in 2014, a job that went to Lesetja Kganyago.
With his recent appointment as Absa CEO, Daniel stands as the first black African to occupy that position. He officially resumed duty on the 15th of January, 2020. The appointment came upon the retirement of the incumbent CEO of the financial institution, Maria Ramos, in February 2019
Daniel is a career banker who has distinguished himself in his field, having occupied top-paying positions for more than twenty-five years
Daniel Mminele is a pillar in the South African financial sector, considering his enormous contribution. His recent appointment as the CEO of Absa is one out of many heights that he has attained. He has been a representative for South Africa in many international forums like the BRICS, G20, and the International Monetary Fund.
Source: www.absa.co.za
