Nedbank appoints Life Healthcare CEO to board

Nedbank Group has appointed Life Healthcare CEO Peter Wharton-Hood to its board, effective from 3 March 2026.

The appointment, announced on Tuesday in a JSE Sens release, follows a year of active succession planning under the bank’s Board Continuity Programme, which aims to balance fresh expertise with institutional stability, the bank said.

Read:
Life Healthcare’s bold pivot: From hospitals to high-tech diagnostics
In bank boss merry-go-round, there’s only one clear winner …

Wharton-Hood, a chartered accountant, will join Nedbank as an independent non-executive director.

He brings a formidable background in international finance, having previously served in senior executive roles at Standard Bank Group and Deutsche Bank AG.

His arrival is set to bolster Nedbank’s focus on high-stakes oversight, as he immediately steps into roles on the group credit committee and the large-exposure approval committee.

Read: Life Healthcare lifts underlying earnings despite R2.9bn accounting hit

The Nedbank board expressed high confidence in his “extensive experience” across banking, payments, and technology.

Nedbank Group chair Daniel Mminele noted that while the board is seeing several shifts, the addition of such unique insights is timely for the group’s strategic resilience.

The board is also preparing for the retirement of two long-standing directors, Hubert Brody and Brian Dames, who will both step down following its annual general meeting (AGM) on 29 May 2026.

Brody, the current lead independent director, and Dames, who chaired the Sustainability and Climate Resilience Committee, have both completed nine-year terms.

To manage this transition, Nedbank has confirmed several key internal leadership moves:

• Phumzile Langeni has been appointed to succeed Brody as the lead independent director with effect from the close of the AGM.
• Fleetwood Grobler will take over from Dames as chair of the Sustainability and Climate Resilience Committee.
• Dixit Joshi is slated to become the chair of the group risk and capital management committee on 29 May 2026.

“Their unique insights will be sorely missed at board meetings as well as on the board committees which they chair,” Mminele said thanking the retiring directors for their “wise counsel over the years”.

Listen/read: Phumzile Langeni set to exit Delta board, hails SA’s removal from grey list

Looking ahead

To ensure a smooth transition amid these changes, the board has resolved to further extend the tenure of Stanley Subramoney by an additional year. This extension is explicitly designed to provide a steady hand on the boards and committees as the new appointees settle into their roles.

As of the close of the upcoming AGM, the board will remain a diverse body of 19 directors, comprising seasoned independent non-executives and a core executive team led by CEO Jason Quinn. This new configuration is said to reflect a “future-fit” leadership team designed to manage the complexities of modern banking, from AI and digital transformation to climate risk.

Read:
Nedbank’s East Africa push comes at a premium with NCBA purchase
Nedbank launches R14bn bid for East African lender
New Nedbank CEO gets R70m sign-on ‘bonus’

Nedbank share price

Follow Moneyweb’s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.