FIRSTRAND has appointed Sizwe Nxasana, head of its core banking unit and a former chief of Telkom, as its new chief executive.

FIRSTRAND has appointed Sizwe Nxasana, head of its core banking unit and a former chief of Telkom, as its new chief executive.

Nxasana will be the first black chief executive of a major South African banking group when he succeeds Paul Harris as group chief executive at the end of this year. He will join only a handful of black executives running one of the country's top 40 blue chips.

Analysts said the appointment of Nxasana, who has been at the helm of FirstRand Bank for more than three years, signalled continuity at South Africa's second-largest banking group.

The company said Johan Burger had been appointed chief operating officer of the FirstRand Group with immediate effect, and would also retain his position as financial director.

Nxasana, a chartered accountant, succeeded Harris as head of FirstRand Bank in January 2006, and has been a non-executive director at the bank since 2003. - Reuters