Banker S.A. January 2014 | Page 10

PROFILE Creating a strong footing for future leaders Education is vital for our country and our industry, says FirstRand CEO, Sizwe Nxasana. A ppointed CEO of the banking group in January 2010, Sizwe Nxasana sees himself committed to the executive leadership of FirstRand for, at least, the next five years. However, according to Nxasana, what he will not do is occupy the seat for more BANKER SA Edition 8 than 10 years. ‘The next five years will be challenging, but exciting as we focus 8 profile1.indd 8 on growing the domestic business in an innovative way – expanding into the rest of Africa and building traction in India,’ says Nxasana. ‘I’ve always believed that it’s not a good idea for a CEO to remain the head of a company for longer than 10 years. I was the CEO of Telkom for almost eight years when an opportunity became available at FirstRand Bank to become the CEO of banking operations. I had already been a non-executive director of FirstRand Bank and I was 2013/12/19 4:19 PM