Top-level exit sparks unease
Phakamani Hadebe’s mysterious resignation has stoked fears inside banking giant Barclays Africa
The murky circumstances surrounding the departure of Phakamani Hadebe, Barclays Africa’s SA CEO for corporate & investment banking, underscores confusion around the future of the pivotal unit at the bank.
Last month it emerged that Hadebe had resigned “for personal reasons”. His resignation followed an eight-month delay in filling the CEO position left vacant by Stephen van Coller’s departure — a post Hadebe was considered a shoo-in for.
Staff staged a walkout on news of Hadebe being overlooked for the CEO position, and the Association of Black Securities & Investment Professionals labelled the move “distasteful” and a missed opportunity for transformation.
Shareholders were also left unsure as to whether there was wider discontent among the bank’s top brass, or deeper problems inside the investment banking arm.
Since Hadebe’s departure, Barclays Africa has split the corporate & investment banking CEO position in two, under joint heads Temi Ofong and Mike Harvey. They will report to David Hodnett, the bank’s deputy CEO responsible for SA banking.
The restructuring came as a surprise to staff, considering the unit’s strong performance: its profit grew 27% last year to reach R5.1bn — 34% of the bank’s total.
But insiders who spoke to the Financial Mail are jittery after Hadebe’s departure. They’re worried that the unit may be sidelined, as Ofong and Harvey will report to the SA bank that Hodnett has responsibility for, even though a large part of the unit’s business is in Africa.
Barclays Africa spokesman Phumza Macanda says that while the “corporate & investment bank reports to Hodnett, within [it] there is Africa work, and for that component Ofong and Harvey have to account to [deputy CEO for restof-africa banking] Peter Matlare”.
The staff — many of them intensely loyal to Hadebe — also feel the bank hasn’t given any proper answer as to why he wasn’t appointed to the CEO post left open by Van Coller, who resigned in July 2016 and left in September.
One told the Financial Mail she considers Hadebe an inspirational leader. “He epitomised the heart of the organisation. Even though he was not keen on public speaking, he would always make an effort to engage with individuals on a personal level.”
Claims of being slack on transformation will be especially embarrassing for the bank, which is currently hammering out a BEE deal.
Barclays Africa communications head Songezo Zibi says Van Coller apparently promised the job to both Hadebe and Ofong. This meant chaos ensued when CEO Maria Ramos had to decide on a successor.
Hadebe had an impressive track record: he had worked with Ramos at national treasury and joined Barclays Africa fresh from turning the Land Bank around.
Hadebe has declined to discuss his departure with the Financial Mail. “It would be unfair of me to speak to you when I have not answered anyone else,” he says.
But a source close to Hadebe says there’s no truth to the rumour that Van Coller promised him the job, even though many in the bank expected him to be the natural successor.
Nonetheless, the source says, “employees at the corporate & investment bank thought the job belonged to [Hadebe]”, partly because his responsibilities far exceeded those of anyone else.
When Hadebe was appointed in 2014, Van Coller said: “As a consequence of his concentrated focus on building our substantial SA business, [his appointment] will allow greater focus on deepening our resolve in the rest of Africa.”
So while Hadebe was CEO of the SA unit, Ofong was soon promoted to head the unit’s business in the rest of Africa.
Says the source: “With [Hadebe] and [Ofong] appointed as CEOS for SA and rest-of-africa, you start to see where the story of the ‘promise’ comes from.”
Last year, Zibi said Hodnett would take over on an “interim basis”, and a successor would be identified before Van Coller departed in September. This didn’t happen and six months later, with no successor appointed, Hadebe resigned.
Though the bank hasn’t officially given a reason for his departure, sources say the extended time that Barclays Africa took to replace Van Coller created an unhappy environment, and left the corporate & investment bank in limbo.
It needn’t have turned out this way, if one considers how other financial services firms have replaced critical individuals.
Standard Bank appointed Kenny Fihla as corporate & investment banking CEO on the same day David Munro left to head Liberty.
At Old Mutual Emerging Markets, CEO Ralph Mupita quit within a month of Van Coller’s departure from Absa. A few months later, Peter Moyo was hired to replace him.
Hadebe epitomised the heart of the organisation . . . He would always make an effort to engage with individuals at a personal level Barclays Africa staff member