Absa Kenya Appoints Abdi Mohamed As New CEO

Absa Bank Kenya Plc has appointed Abdi Mohamed as the new Managing Director and CEO.

Abdi replaces Mr Jeremy Awori who has officially assumed his role as Chief Executive Officer of the Ecobank Group.

Mr Awori had served as CEO from February 2013 and oversaw the lender’s successful transformation from Barclays Bank Kenya to Absa.

“This decision follows a rigorous recruitment process conducted between October 2022 and February 2023,” the board announced.

Abdi is a Kenyan with expansive experience in the financial sector and has held various executive positions within Absa Group, having started his career at Absa (formerly Barclays) Garissa branch 28 years ago.

He is currently the Managing Director of Absa Bank Tanzania and acting Managing Executive for Retail and Business Banking, Africa Regional Operations, Absa.

He was previously the Chief Operating Officer for the Bank in Kenya and has also served as Retail & Business Banking Director in Kenya and Zambia.

Abdi holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Kenyatta University, Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Edith Cowan University and Advanced Management Programme (IMD Business School —Switzerland).

“I am honoured to have led Absa Kenya in making a difference in our society while achieving significant commercial milestones over the past decade,” said Mr Awori on his exit. The firm’s board lauded Mr Awori’s achievements at the helm of the lender

Absa Kenya, which has 83 branches across the country, had picked Yusuf Omari who had been serving as the chief finance officer (CFO) as acting CEO following Mr Awori’s exit.

“The Board takes this opportunity to sincerely thank Yusuf Omari, who has been the Interim Managing Director, for his commitment while serving on this role. Yusuf will continue as the Interim Managing Director until such time when the regulatory approval process in respect of Abdi’s appointment is completed,” said Absa.