FNB CEO to take early retirement

FirstRand has announced that FNB CEO Harry Kellan will take early retirement at the end of 2026, after two years at the helm.

He will be succeeded by the current CEO of FNB’s Personal segment, Lytania Johnson, whose appointment comes amid sweeping changes across the bank’s segments.

Kellan has led the oldest bank in South Africa since 2024 and has overseen its maturation and expansion across Africa during his time at the helm.

He has been a part of the FirstRand group for over two decades, including ten years as group CFO.

“In the two years I have been CEO of FNB, my focus has been on simplification, product, platform and structure,” said Kellan. 

Kellan’s rise to the top of South Africa’s oldest bank was unexpected, as he comes from a long line of barbers, including his father and grandfather. However, he decided to take a different path.

“I initially selected medicine and pharmacy as my first two university discipline choices. I was unable to get into either of the two and had to settle for my third choice – a bachelor’s degree in science,” Kellan previously said.

While he initially planned on becoming a doctor, this dream proved elusive as Kellan struggled with biology, chemistry, and physics.

However, he excelled at mathematics, leading Kellan to take the path of least resistance, changing degrees to focus on becoming a Chartered Accountant (CA).

He earned a Bachelor’s in Accounting from the University of the Witwatersrand and qualified as a CA at Arthur Andersen before rising to become an audit manager.

HSBC would later hire Kellan as an Associate Director in its Corporate Finance Division in South Africa, marking his entry into the banking industry. 

Kellan’s life took another new direction in 2005 when he joined FNB South Africa as its financial manager. 

From this point, Kellan started building a career that would eventually see him occupying the CEO’s chair after Jacques Celliers moved to head FirstRand’s fintech efforts in 2024. 

Kellan rose through the ranks during the Jordaan years, becoming FNB’s CFO in 2007 and FirstRand’s CFO in 2014.

Major changes at FNB

Kellan’s early retirement is one of several major changes being implemented across the FirstRand group, the majority of which relate to FNB.

In a notice to shareholders posted on Monday, 30 March, FirstRand explained that, for years, FNB has operated with a customer segment model. This included a retail and commercial segment, underneath which were sub-segments.

“Designed to meet customer needs and provide focused and appropriate product sets and solutions, this model underpinned FNB’s ability to scale its client franchises and become South Africa’s most profitable retail and commercial bank,” the company said.

However, the size and scale of its sub-segments following this growth mean the model now requires simplification. “As a result, the following segment model changes will be implemented,” it said.

FirstRand explained that FNB’s overarching retail and commercial construct will be replaced by a retail and business banking (RBB) segment servicing entry-level to middle-income individuals and small businesses. 

Johnson will step up into the role of chief executive for the newly created RBB segment and, at the same time, replace Kellan at the bank’s helm.

She has been with FNB for 25 years and has served as the CEO of the bank’s Personal segment for the past three years. 

FirstRand explained that, during his tenure, Kellan embarked on a strategy to reduce structural complexity, improve agility and decision-making and unlock efficiencies.

“The reconfiguration of the retail and commercial segment model is the next step required for the business to be even more agile and responsive to customer needs,” Kellan said.

“I have every confidence in the new leadership team. They have been my colleagues for many years and have the expertise to make sure FNB maintains its market-leading position.”

Another change being implemented at FNB is the introduction of a new standalone segment, which will represent private banking and wealth management. Sizwe Nxedlana will remain the CEO of this segment, a role he has held since 2023. 

FirstRand said the enterprise and public sector subsegments of commercial will move into the recently established commercial and corporate bank (CCB) run by Muneer Ismail.

FirstRand CEO Mary Vilakazi said the group is confident the new structure will significantly reduce complexity, elevate segment CEO accountability and ensure ongoing execution of growth strategies.

“FNB is in a good place as demonstrated by its recent results, with the South African business delivering 10% growth in pretax profits with the overall FNB franchise increasing its ROE to 41%,” she said.

“Harry has done an excellent job to get the business to a point where it can embark on these changes with clear strategic objectives.” 

“The group’s succession and talent management approach has allowed it to undertake this restructuring with minimum disruption to senior talent and has created growth, tenure and increased accountability for a new generation of leadership.”