Absa Bank Kenya has named Abdi Mohamed the new chief executive, replacing Jeremy Awori, who exited in October last year after a nearly 10-year stint.
Mr Mohamed, whose appointment is subject to regulatory approval, currently doubles up as Absa Tanzania managing director and acting managing executive for retail and business banking, Africa Regional Operations.
He has previously served as the chief operating officer for the Kenyan lender.
“Other roles that he has held within the organisation include retail and business banking director in Kenya and Zambia, and operations efficiency manager, Barclays global retail and commercial banking, London,” Absa said in a statement.
Jeremy Awori was appointed pan-African Ecobank chief executive officer in September. He is credited with having helped Absa Kenya achieve significant commercial milestones in the past decade, including the rebranding from Barclays.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed lender posted a 30 percent jump in net profit in the nine months that ended September on the back of higher income from lending.
The company’s net earnings stood at Sh10.7 billion in the review period, up from Sh8.2 billion the year before.
Absa replaced Mr Awori with Yusuf Omari on an interim basis.
“Yusuf will continue as the interim managing director until such a time when the regulatory approval process in respect of Mohamed’s appointment is completed,” said Absa.
Mr Mohamed holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Kenyatta University, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Edith Cowan University in Australia and an Advanced Management Programme from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Switzerland.
