LIFESTYLE
Meet the bankers
‘Bankers can make a really
big positive difference. We
give people the ability to be
active economic agents; we
allow businesses to perform;
and we are in a position to
promote transformation.’
Sim Tshabalala, Joint CEO, Standard Bank Group
E
arly this year, in March 2013, Simpiwe “Sim” Tshabalala
became joint chief executive of the Standard Bank Group
and chief executive of Standard Bank South Africa.
He was born in Hlabisa, an area in rural KwaZuluNatal, but grew up in Rockville, Soweto, and obtained his
matric at the Sacred Heart College in Johannesburg.
Tshabalala attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, where he
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988, and a Bachelor of
Laws in 1990. He served his articles at Bowman Gilfillan and became
a professional assistant at the firm. Tshabalala went on to do a Master
of Laws at Notre Dame in the US, where he received the summa cum
laude honour in 1993.
In 1994, Tshabalala was admitted as an attorney of the High Court.
While he was consulting at Real Africa Durolink investment bank, he
continued with his studies on a part-time basis, and completed a higher
diploma in tax law from Wits in 1996.
In 1998, Tshabalala joined the Structured Finance division of
Standard Bank Group. He worked his way up through the ranks,
becoming the Group’s director in 2000 and the managing director of
Stanbic Africa in 2001. It wasn’t long after that he became known in
the banking industry as a man to watch: in 2005 he was nominated
by The Banker magazine as one of the “Top 18 under-40 bankers in
the world”. In 2006, he was appointed chief executive of Personal and
Business Banking for South Africa. In the same year, he completed
Harvard University’s Advanced Management Programme.
In March 2008, Tshabalala was appointed chief executive of
Standard Bank South Africa. Following that, in April 2009, he
was appointed to serve as one of three deputy chief