You can’t talk about South African banking without mentioning the stalwart and legend Michael Jordaan, Former FNB CEO and now Chairman of Bank Zero. Jordaan is the man you changed the face of Mzansi’s banking industry given the amount of work he has done at First National Bank (FNB).
He modernised FNB banking system, that trend spilled over and spread like a wild fire across South African banking industry. After taking sabbatical from banking, his back with a new fintech and banking startup Bank Zero to shake up things again.
The newly launched news publication Daily Investor, recently asked Jordaan what he thinks are the most important factors that helped him achieve his goals.
He highlighted three points:
- Deep industry insight. The real magic happens in the last 1% of industry knowledge. For example, few banking CEOs globally know exactly how Return on Equity is calculated for their different business lines. However, understanding the varying cost of capital is an essential part of maximising value creation. Or they don’t have deep insight into the yield curve and interest rate maturity transformation, but this is the essence of banking.
- Surrounding yourself with people who are better than you, and challenging them to deliver more than they knew they were capable of by empowering them to get on with it. Sometimes the CEO needs to get out of their way. The role of the CEO is not to make great business decisions. Instead, it is to facilitate great decision-making. Great people hate being micro-managed. The CEO needs to help them win.
- A cultural revolution that promotes intrapreneurship and innovation. In my experience, many preach this, but few truly operate with the commercial savvy and smart risk-taking that is required in a hyper-competitive world. Of course, it all starts with giving the customer great value. If this means cannibalising yourself, then embrace the inevitable future rather than defend the unsustainable.
According to Daily Investor, Between 1996 and 1999, Jordaan served as CEO of Origin Bank, followed by chief executive positions at FNB HomeLoans, eBucks.com, and FNB’s customer solutions division. These positions prepared him well to lead FNB, and in 2004, at the age of 36, he took the reigns at the bank. Under Jordaan’s leadership, FNB prospered and became the bank of choice in South Africa.
