Executive summary. Standard Bank’s Retail Executive Programme, developed with GIBS, prepares junior to mid-level retail banking executives to lead in a rapidly changing industry. Combining executive education, international immersions and action learning projects, the programme broadens strategic thinking, strengthens cross-functional collaboration and turns learning into practical business solutions. Across eight cohorts, it has developed nearly 200 executives, built a strong succession pipeline, and generated innovations that deliver measurable gains in efficiency, revenue, financial inclusion, and customer value.

Key takeaways

• The Standard Bank Retail Executive Programme combines executive education, international immersions and real business projects to prepare leaders for shifts in AI, fintech, digital transformation and customer expectations.
• Action Learning Projects turn leadership development into measurable business value, with more than 60% of recommendations implemented and solutions generating efficiency, revenue and financial inclusion benefits.
• Across eight cohorts, nearly 200 executives have been developed, strengthening Standard Bank’s succession pipeline and collaboration across functions, countries and business units.

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Standard Bank gears up for the future with a customised executive education programme that enables collaboration, innovation and true customer centricity.

Standard Bank is Africa’s largest bank by assets. While its primary presence is in South Africa, it operates across more than 20 sub-Saharan African countries, and has Chinese exposure through the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, its largest shareholder.

Personal and Private Banking (PPB), the Bank’s retail banking segment, is at the nexus of all major banking functions: credit, risk, platforms and technology, legal, and the customers. Its operations are directly impacted by trends and disruptors in the market, as it is the banking segment which is most readily hit by changes in the regulatory environment, as well as changing consumer needs.

In 2013, during a period of business consolidation and African expansion, PPB Exco believed that it required a high-impact programme that could broaden its executives’ views around banking, technology and innovation.

A partnership with the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) saw the creation of the Standard Bank Retail Executive Programme, a customised leadership development initiative for junior- to mid-level executives. The programme was designed to broaden strategic thinking, strengthen cross-functional collaboration, expose participants to global innovation, and deliver measurable business impact.

Over eight cohorts spanning more than a decade, the programme has developed nearly 200 executives, many of whom have progressed into senior leadership positions. Through global immersions, executive education, and bank-specific action learning projects (ALPs), participants have generated innovations that continue to influence PPB strategy. More than 60% of ALP recommendations have been implemented, resulting in measurable operational efficiencies, revenue opportunities, and customer-focused innovations.

“We were trying to give our talented executives exposure outside their day-to-day work, and to give them access to not just local, but more regional and global trends, insights and experiences that they could then bring back into Standard Bank. We wanted them to apply different thinking around implementation and to develop the best practices to adopt. Standard Bank is already implementing a lot of the innovation we are seeing, but this programme allows delegates to ask, ‘How else can we do it? What are the opportunities?” – Ana Spring, Head of Learning, Personal & Private Banking, Standard Bank

The Challenge

In addition to navigating a rapidly evolving banking sector driven by tech advances, Standard Bank’s PPB identified three key leadership challenges that also needed to be addressed:

1. Retail banking executives often possessed deep specialist expertise within their businesses, but struggled with transversal skills.
2. These leaders tended to focus on immediate operational issues rather than broader industry trends and future opportunities.
3. Greater cross-functional networking was required across risk, finance, credit, legal, technology, and customer-facing functions to accelerate innovation and decision-making.

To address these challenges, Standard Bank needed to ensure that it was developing retail-specific leadership and management capabilities, while building strong networks across its South African, African and UK-based operations. The bank also wanted to develop a future-fit mindset, where its executives were encouraged to embrace entrepreneurial and innovative thinking, allowing the expansion of strategic perspectives beyond traditional banking and regional boundaries. Finally, the bank needed its executives to adopt and disseminate the bank’s customer-centric digital transformation agenda to the broader banking cohort.

“Many of the products that have been relatively successful over the years came from some of those trips and ALPs. After 2014, we were the first in Africa to launch banking via chat apps. We actually launched in 2017, way before WhatsApp was even a thing, and that came from China.” – Andrew van der Hoven, Head of Digital e-Commerce, Standard Bank

Executive Commitment

What stood out about the initiative was that the PPB executives, many of whom had themselves completed the training, actively supported the programme by sponsoring ALP teams, mentoring participants, funding implementation initiatives, and ensuring recommendations were integrated into business strategy, see Figure 1.

Delegates also needed to be committed to a demanding nine-month journey that included international travel, project work, coaching sessions, and executive presentations alongside their day-to-day responsibilities.

In addition, the bi-annual programme had to have constant relevance to the current global banking ecosystem. While GIBS provided world-class faculty, programme design expertise, and global insights into innovation and strategy, the business school also worked closely with the PPB learning and development team to ensure programme relevance and alignment with current business priorities.

“They’re one of the few companies that gave me a lot of time per group, which allowed me to push them to a level of excellence. It was hard for them; they were doing this on top of extremely demanding jobs, and yet they dedicated the time. The result was tangible deliverables at the end of the day.” – Tammy Perrie, ALP Coach

Programme Design

This programme was extremely innovative in its design and followed a three-tier learning architecture:

1. Academic and Executive Learning

Participants engaged with leading academics, industry specialists, and senior executives in the classroom on topics including strategy, disruption, customer-centricity, digital transformation, critical thinking, systems thinking, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

2. Business and Cultural Immersions

The programme included three immersive learning experiences designed to expose delegates to different economic, technological, and cultural environments. In 2024, these were:

• South Africa – understanding local context
• Kenya – African digital innovation
• China – Fintech innovation and scale

3. Action Learning Projects (ALPs)

ALPs were the central practical component of the programme. Working in teams, participants tackled real business challenges identified by executive sponsors. Projects required innovative, low-cost solutions with clear implementation potential and measurable business value.

“Kenya is important in terms of fintech innovation, especially on the personal banking side. They are the frontier. Nairobi is basically cashless, because of the solutions such as M-PESA. When we’re talking about fintech innovation on the continent, people want to go to Kenya.” – Yang Gao, Head of China Africa Strategy, Standard Bank

Impact

The impact of this programme was enhanced leadership capabilities and significant product innovation within the PPB segment.

Pipeline to Exco

The programme, to date, has developed nearly 200 executives and created a strong succession pipeline for PPB and the broader Standard Bank Group.

“We got exposure to other cultures, but more importantly, we got exposure to markets. China is way ahead in AI and the use of technology broadly. This has impacted my way of thinking. We’ve got more to offer, more to develop from a country point of view, from a continent point of view, but also from an organisational point of view.” – Bob Malatji, Head of Client Coverage Limpopo, Standard Bank

Leadership and personal impact

• Stronger Collaboration and Networks: Participants consistently reported stronger relationships across business units, countries, and functions, enabling faster problem-solving and more effective decision-making.
• Expanding Strategic Thinking: Exposure to leading global markets broadened participants’ understanding of innovation, customer-centricity, digital transformation, and future industry trends.
• Technology and Innovation Mindset: The programme accelerated understanding of AI, digital platforms, fintech innovation, and customer experience design.
• Broader Market and Cultural Understanding: Immersions exposed leaders to the markets in which Standard Bank operates while strengthening their ability to identify opportunities for growth, financial inclusion, and customer value creation.
• Increased Engagement and Retention: Participants frequently cite renewed motivation, increased confidence, and a stronger sense of purpose in their careers following the programme.

Action Learning Project Results and ROI

Examples from the 2025 cohort include:

1. Bankbotics

An AI-enabled solution designed to automate routine client servicing activities for Private Bankers. ROI:

• 17,690 hours saved annually.
• R3.1 million in cost savings.
• Estimated revenue impact of R13.4 million.

2. Blue Advance

A USSD-based affordability solution designed to support underserved customers who may not have reliable internet access. ROI:

• Improved access to credit
• Enabled financial inclusion
• Enhanced customer resilience
• Created scalable capabilities for broader market application.
• Profit after tax potentially growing from R44 million in year one to R78 million in year four.

3. Simplifli

The overall winner of the 2025 programme, Simplifli introduced the Risk Co-Pilot capability that reduces risk assessment preparation time from weeks to minutes. ROI:

• Annual productivity gains valued between R1.3 million and R3 million.
• Reduced rework and faster decision-making.
• More efficient use of specialist resources.
• Accelerated innovation delivery.

4. USSDvolution

A cross-border USSD remittance solution aligned with Standard Bank’s financial inclusion strategy.

• The initiative is projected to generate approximately R100 million in operating income within five years.
• Expanded access to affordable cross-border payments.
• Double-digit growth in customers using USSD as a channel.

Conclusion

The Standard Bank Retail Executive Programme has become a flagship leadership initiative successfully combining executive education, market immersions, and practical business application.

By exposing participants to global best practice, challenging conventional thinking, and requiring the delivery of real business solutions, the programme has produced tangible organisational value while strengthening the bank’s future leadership pipeline.

After more than a decade and eight successful cohorts, the programme continues to evolve in line with changing business needs, ensuring that Standard Bank develops leaders capable of driving innovation, customer-centricity, and sustainable growth across Africa and beyond.

“The Standard Bank Retail Executive Programme has become a flagship leadership initiative successfully combining executive education, market immersions, and practical business application.”