Top CBZ bosses leave company during its growth pea...

Top CBZ bosses leave company during its growth peak

Nyashadzashe Ndoro

At a time when CBZ Holdings, Zimbabwe’s biggest Bank, has just completed its acquisition of a 36% share of First Mutual Holdings Limited, one of the country’s largest insurers and a holder of an expansive property portfolio, an affirmation that the company is geared to take on rivals in the region, the bank has announced the departure of chairman Marc Holtzman and CEO Blessing Mudavanhu.

Holtzman, an American banker and former politician, was appointed CBZ chairman in 2019. Together with Mudavanhu, who is retiring, they steered the company towards a massive evolution plan which included CBZ’s planned acquisition of ZB Financial Holdings, which has a loan market share of just over 5%.

Holtzman is currently the chairman of the board of directors of the Bank of Kigali, Rwanda’s largest financial institution.

The two are leaving at a time when CBZ is on an expansionist mission characterised by the recent acquisition of FML and the planned takeover of ZB. NSSA is the largest shareholder in both CBZ and FML.

“The Board of Directors (‘the Board’) of CBZ Holdings Limited (‘the Company’) announces that Mr. Marc Holtzman, a Non Executive Director of the Company, has tendered notice of his retirement as a Director of the Company and from the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors with effect from 31 December, 2023. A transitional arrangement has been put in place and this has allowed Mr Holtzman to proceed to take leave from 1 December 2023,” CBZ said in a statement.

“During his tenure as Chairman, Marc served with distinction and showed strong leadership as he steered the Company and Group on a clear growth trajectory. The Board sincerely expresses its gratitude to him for his service over the past four years during which the Company has embarked on a number of corporate actions which will transform it into an integrated financial services Group.”

CBZ is hoping to benefit from the relationships that Holtzman built over the years with key stakeholders.

Accordingly, the Board of Directors of CBZ Holdings Limited announced the appointment of Mr. Luxon Zembe as a Non-Executive Director and Acting Chairman of the Company, effective from 1 December, 2023.

“Luxon is a highly experienced business management consultant with over 30 years of expertise in Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning across various sectors. His financial sector experience includes serving on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Advisory Board and Monetary Policy Committees, as well as holding executive positions at Standard Chartered Bank. Luxon has also held senior roles in manufacturing, mining, and retail sectors. He currently runs a management consulting business.

“Luxon holds an MBA degree from Henley International Business School and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) (UK), among other qualifications. In addition to his professional roles, he is involved in academic and consultancy work, serving as an adjunct lecturer at Solusi University and Zimbabwe Defence University, and as a senior consultant, mentor, and trainer for the Zimbabwe Institute of Directors. With his vast corporate experience, Luxon is adequately positioned to provide leadership in driving to completion the corporate actions currently underway in the Company.

“The Board, Management, and Staff of CBZ Holdings Limited extend their congratulations to Luxon on his appointment and wish him success in his new role,” the company said.

CBZ also announced the retirement of Dr. Blessing Mudavanhu, who was the Group Chief Executive Officer for the past five years. The company said a transitional arrangement had been put in place and this has allowed Dr Mudavanhu to proceed to take leave from 1 December, 2023,

“With over 20 years of experience in regional and international financial services organisations, Blessing was key in driving the Company’s growth strategy headlined by the successful acquisition of a significant shareholding in a leading, publicly listed insurance group. His leadership was instrumental in restoring the Company’s brand and reputation, the momentum of which will no doubt continue into the future.

“Blessing’s passion for staff development and welfare as well as equity will be sorely missed.

“The Board, Management and Staff congratulate Dr. Mudavanhu on his achievements and wish him well as he enters a new chapter in his life,” CBZ said.

Dr. Mudavanhu will be replaced by Lawrence Nyazema, who is currently the Managing Director of CBZ Bank Limited. Nyazema will be taking the job on an acting basis.