In 1991, I was overlooked for a promotion to a position I was qualified for, in favour of a white male. Like many white South Africans at the time, corporate SA pretended to be in favour of social and economic transformation. Yet when it came to the crunch, appointing blacks to senior positions was a bridge too far — seemingly a gulf regarding a black woman.
Thirty years later, under a democratic dispensation, a competent and capable young black woman, who rose to the daunting challenge to become the first black female CEO of a bank, resigns amid a successful turnaround, Covid-19 notwithstanding, and the board gladly allows her to leave. What board does that in 2021? Yet that is what the board of African Bank has just done. From what can be gleaned from public accounts and statements by the bank, it does not appear that either the board or the shareholders made attempts to persuade Basani Maluleke to stay. It seems to have been more a case of: if you want to leave, the door is wide open; you know where you came through.
If that was the case it is even more bizarre. One does not often come across CEOs being relieved of their duties when they have performed. During Maluleke’s tenure, African Bank was rated the best bank for service in the SA Customer Satisfaction Index. It was also the only bank with a positive net sentiment score for its online platforms, as assessed by Brandseye in its annual SA Banking Sentiment Index, which ranked Discovery Bank last. Both are recent entrants to the banking sector.
African Bank’s net promoter score — the measure of customers who are likely to recommend a company, product or a service to a friend or colleague — improved from 36 to 52 year on year. This is a critical customer feedback tool to maintain a customer base and grow a business. A score of 52 means African Bank increased its pool of promoters. It now has an employee engagement score of 51, which compares very favourably to the industry benchmark of 38. The engagement score indicates the preparedness of employees to go beyond the call of duty to deliver on the business’s strategy. This speaks volumes about the culture Maluleke nurtured when at the helm.
The incident has reversed the gains made by Maluleke’s appointment. It has compromised the progress of black women in corporate SA
The bank’s brand image was successfully rebuilt after it suffered severe reputational damage during its curatorship, destroying almost all the trust customers and the market had in the brand. The growth that has been achieved in retail deposits also demonstrates that trust has been restored and customers have more confidence in the bank. And the overwhelmingly positive media coverage the bank has received is credit to the deliberate efforts of management to cultivate trust in African Bank.
The bank grew its retail deposits to a total book value of R6bn from R2bn in September 2019, representing 35% of their funding from 3% in 2017. Access to liquidity was one of African Bank’s greatest challenges as it emerged from curatorship. This is no longer a problem for the bank.
By any definition or measure, such achievements deserve a medal. Just focusing on these four milestones among many — customer service, sentiment score, engagement score and liquidity — I have to ask myself, if I were on the board would I allow my CEO to resign? The answer is a resounding no!
A number of questions arise from the African Bank story. Do boards have too much power, and do they always take decisions that are in the best interests of the business? What is the role of shareholders when a CEO resigns for reasons that do not appear to have anything to do with their performance? What is the reputational cost of a dysfunctional relationship between the board and management? Do SA boards have any conscience at all regarding protecting human capital?
The incident has reversed the gains made by Maluleke’s appointment. It has compromised the progress of black women in corporate SA. The narrative on social media suggesting that the CEO resigned because the bank was not profitable in 2020 seems manipulative, irresponsible and false.
Invites speculation
The story comes to mind of a farmer who won annual awards for producing the best maize crop sharing seeds with an adjoining farming community. His reasons for doing so remained a mystery until he was asked why. His response was simple yet logical — it was to ensure the quality and integrity of his crop was not compromised by cross-pollination. Put plainly, we can’t expect to achieve excellence by stifling others. We all — especially those of us in leadership positions — have a responsibility to cultivate an environment that encourages excellence for everyone.
African Bank, the board and its shareholders owe SA an explanation for why Maluleke has left. Any obfuscation leaves us in the dark and invites speculation.
Regarding the barriers that are imposed on women even after they have broken through the glass ceiling, despite it having been established that women leadership offers distinct benefits to organisations, persistent subtle gender bias in society remains a cause of dysfunction. Women’s leadership is desperately needed to ensure our organisations have a conscience and to build a progressive and equitable human society.
This incident has again reminded us that many invisible barriers still persist that hinder the support for women in leadership. Our societies continue to protect and prioritise male privilege, particularly in business. The perception that leadership is invariably a male prerogative has to be dismantled and buried once and for all.
It is hard enough for women to get to the top — now it appears that once we get there, an unconscious bias exists to remove us. We must stand with Maluleke and take strong exception to what has transpired; how her race to the top has been interrupted.
• Luhabe is a social entrepreneur with varied interests, including animal health biotechnology and infrastructure and energy. She serves on the boards of the Social Justice Initiative and chairs the Libstar and Pepkor boards.
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