Absa Group Executive Director and Deputy Group Chief Executive, Peter Matlare is dead.
Matlare died on March 7, 2021, due to COVID-19-related complications. He died aged 61 years.
Peter joined the Absa Group Limited board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in 2011. In August 2016, he was appointed Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer, as well as Chief Executive responsible for Absa Regional Operations, covering Absa’s presence in Africa outside of South Africa.
He previously served in various senior positions in various South African companies that include Vodacom, Tiger Brands, South African Broadcasting Corporation and Primedia.
In a statement, Wendy Lucas-Bull, Absa Group Limited Chairman mourned his passing, saying Absa has lost a dedicated leader, a visionary and an amazing human being.
“He played a key role in overseeing our regional operations and safely leading our banks through the major separation from Barclays and rebrand to Absa,” Said Lucas-Bull.
Absa Group Chief Executive, Daniel Mminele said, “Peter was a seasoned corporate executive, a good leader, inspirational, and passionate about his work, always strongly invested in the success of our continent. I will miss his friendship, collegiality, guidance and wise counsel.”
The demise of Matlare comes at a time when South Africa is battling a mutant strain of COVID-19 that has spread to more than 40 countries.
South Africa currently has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Africa, at 1,521,068 cases and 50,678 fatalities, as at March 7, 2021.