Gerrie Fourie, the founding CEO of Capitec Bank, will step down from his role on July 18, 2025, marking the end of 25 years of visionary leadership.
Under his stewardship as CEO, the company transformed from a challenger bank serving 5 million clients in 2014 to South Africa’s leading digital bank and a diversified financial services company serving over 24 million personal and business clients.
The chief executive has penned a letter to clients addressing recent developments and future plans.
Dear Clients,
After more than 11 years as CEO of Capitec and 25 years on our executive team, I will be retiring from my role at the Annual General Meeting in July 2025.
It has been an extraordinary privilege to lead Capitec through a period of tremendous growth and transformation – from a challenger bank serving 5 million clients in 2014, to South Africa’s leading digital bank and a diversified financial services provider trusted by over 24 million personal and business clients.
This progress would not have been possible without your trust and support. Our objective has remained the same – to make banking simple, affordable, transparent and personal so that people can live better. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together.
Over the past four years, as we diversified our business, we put in place a strong leadership structure across our personal bank, business bank, insurance company and strategic initiatives. This has built a deeply experienced executive team, one I have full confidence in to lead us forward.
To ensure a smooth and thoughtful handover, I will remain fully engaged until July. After that, I’m pleased to share that Graham Lee will step into the role of CEO. Graham has been with Capitec since 2003 and currently leads our personal bank division. His leadership, deep understanding of our business, and values-driven approach make him the ideal person to take us into the future.
Basani Maluleke will take over from Graham as Group Executive for the personal bank. Basani brings a wealth of experience and has already made a significant impact during her four years with us.
Our business is in excellent hands. We have a clear strategy, a strong culture, and incredible people, all driven by the purpose of making a meaningful difference in people’s lives and helping our country grow. I remain committed to Capitec and will support Graham and the broader team through this transition.
It has been one of the greatest honours of my life to serve as Capitec’s CEO. Thank you for your partnership, your belief, and your trust. I’m confident that the best is still to come.
With gratitude,
Gerrie Fourie
Capitec CEO
Graham Lee, currently the Group Executive of the personal bank division, will take over from Gerrie Fourie as the new CEO and as a member of the Board on 19 July 2025. Lee is 50 and has been a member of the Group Executive Committee since 2022.
He joined Capitec in 2003 and has held numerous strategic positions in credit, technology and data, personal bank operations, and, most recently, as a member of the Group Executive Committee.
