Standard Bank’s Geises on Definitive List of Women CEOs
Standard Bank Namibia Holdings’ chief executive Mercia Geises features in 17th position on the list of 50 women CEOs leading corporate Africa.
This is after Africa.com undertook a rigorous research project to identify the women who run the largest and most complex businesses on the continent.
The result of this extensive research undertaking is “The Africa. com Definitive List of Women CEOs”.
The list was compiled through a deep research effort to identify big businesses listed on one of Africa’s stock exchanges and having a market capitalisation of over US$150 million or a global publicly listed company with a market capitalisation of over US$50 billion with significant operations in Africa.
“I am forever grateful to the male and female leaders who nurtured me throughout my professional journey and recognise that we can only drive Africa’s growth if we play our part in ensuring that the girl child rises to the occasion. We are knowledge workers and there surely should not be any reason for women to doubt their capabilities based on gender. Through the work that we do at Standard Bank and initiatives like the Africa.com Definitive List of Women CEOs, we amplify the message that it can be,” said Geises.
Geises joined Standard Bank in July 2016 as head of personal and business banking.
She was responsible for the retail banking franchise – the largest division of the bank –for five years before being appointed to her current role in May 2021.
She is an admitted attorney, who started her corporate career in impact investing, setting up and running infrastructure funds with significant development impact in the country.
Prior to joining Standard Bank, Geises worked at Old Mutual for 12 years, rising to the position of CEO of Old Mutual Investment Group (Namibia) – an investment manager with N$30 billion in assets under management.