FNB CEO Harry Kellan will step down and take early retirement at the end of 2026 as part of a broader restructuring of FirstRand’s banking operations, the group announced in a statement on Monday.
He will be succeeded by Lytania Johnson, currently CEO of the personal segment, who will take over as CEO of both the new retail and business banking (RBB) segment and FNB.
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She has been with the bank for 25 years and has led the personal segment for the past three years.
Lytania Johnson, newly appointed CEO at FNB. Image: Supplied
Kellan, who has been with the group for 22 years, including a decade as group chief financial officer, assumed the role of FNB CEO in April 2024.
“In the two years I have been CEO of FNB my focus has been on simplification, product, platform and structure,” Kellan says.
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“The reconfiguration of the retail and commercial segment model is the next step required for the business to be even more agile and responsive to customer needs,” he adds.
His early retirement follows changes to FNB’s operating model, which the group says are aimed at simplifying its segment structure as the business has grown in scale.
New structure for FNB
As part of the overhaul, the existing retail and commercial segment will be replaced by a retail and business banking (RBB) segment. This will serve entry-level to middle-income individuals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.
A separate segment will house private banking and wealth management, led by Sizwe Nxedlana, who has held the role since 2023.
Meanwhile, enterprise and public sector activities will move into the commercial and corporate bank (CCB), run by Muneer Ismail.
Johnson says the simplified structure will allow FNB to better serve customers by aligning personal and business banking needs.
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“By bringing together retail and business banking, we can better serve entrepreneurs, small businesses and households who require solutions that can cover their personal and business needs,” she said.
Group-level changes
Beyond FNB, FirstRand has also created a new group chief operating officer role to improve coordination and operational effectiveness across the group.
Gert Kruger, previously group chief risk officer since 2017, has been appointed to the position. He will be succeeded as CRO by Emma Mer, who previously held the same role within FNB’s retail and commercial segment.
FirstRand CEO Mary Vilakazi said the group expects the new structure to reduce complexity and strengthen accountability across business segments.
All leadership and structural changes will take effect from 1 April 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
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