Simpiwe Tshabalala (born 15 December 1967), also Simphiwe Tshabalala, commonly known as Sim Tshabalala, is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n lawyer, businessman and corporative executive. He is the

Group CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, of the

Standard Bank Group Standard Bank (officially Standard Bank Group Limited) is the largest bank in Africa, as well as the continent's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is located in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The ...

, the largest banking group on the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n continent, with total assets of more than ZAR:3.1 trillion (US$164.25 billion), as of June 2024.

Background and education

Tshabalala was born on 15 December 1967 in

Hlabisa Hlabisa is a settlement in Umkhanyakude District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The village lies between the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi game reserves, some 40 km north-west of Mtubatuba. It is named after the Hlabis ...

, Umkhanyakude,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, South Africa. He grew up in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

. He graduated with a

High School Diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

from Sacred Heart College, Johannesburg. He studied at

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1988 and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

two years later. In 1993, he graduated at the top of his class with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Catholic religious order o ...

in the United States. He returned to South Africa and was admitted to the South African Bar. Later, he obtained a Higher Diploma in Taxation Law from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

. He also attended and completed the Advanced Management Programme from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 2006.

Career

He joined ''Real Africa Durolink Investment Bank'' in 1994, working in the bank's "structured finance division" until 2000. In 2000, he was hired by

Standard Bank Standard Bank (officially Standard Bank Group Limited) is the largest bank in Africa, as well as the continent's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is located in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The ...

and was assigned to the Project Finance Division. One year later he was appointed to the group's executive committee. He quickly rose through the ranks and served as the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of "Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited", before working as the chief executive of the Personal and Business Banking operation for Standard Bank South Africa. In 2008 he was appointed CEO of Standard Bank South Africa, and one of three Deputy CEOs of Standard Bank Group. In 2012, he was given additional responsibility for Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) in South Africa. In 2013 he was promoted to joint CEO of the Standard Bank Group, serving in that role with co-CEO, Ben Kruger. In 2017 Kruger relinquished his role and Tshabalala became the sole Group CEO. He is reported to be a strong advocate and practitioner of

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

and

women empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...

. * Note: "Stanbic Africa is the name Standard Bank uses for its operations in some parts of Africa to avoid confusion with UK-based lender

Standard Chartered Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in th ...

Other considerations

Simpiwe Tshabalala is the Vice President and Treasurer of the

Institute of International Finance The Institute of International Finance (IIF) is the association or trade group for the global financial services industry. It was created by 38 banks of leading industrialized countries in 1983 in response to the international debt crisis of the ...

. He is a Fellow of the ''Institute of Bankers of South Africa'' and an Honorary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch Business School. In March 2024, he was ranked "among the 10 Top Bank CEOs" in the ''2024 Brand Guardianship Index''. He supports the South African government's pursuit of a middle-of-the-road free-market economy and a non-aligned geo-political path.

References

External links

Brief Biography at Standard Bank Website

Biography at World Economic Forum Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tshabalala Simpiwe 1967 births Living people Standard Bank people South African bankers Zulu people Harvard University alumni South African businesspeople South African chief executives University of Notre Dame alumni Rhodes University alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni

Background and education

Career

Other considerations

See also

References

External links