FirstRand has named Mary Vilakazi as the company’s first Black woman CEO.

Vilakazi will replace Alan Pullinger, who has been with the company for 26 years and at its helm for the last five years.

Pullinger will stand down as executive director at the end of March 2024 but will continue with the company full-time until the end of June 2024 as part of the handover process, according to the group.

On Wednesday, the board disclosed the most recent adjustments.

The new appointments will take effect on April 1, 2024.

Vilakazi has been on the boards of Kagiso Media Limited, MS Group subsidiaries, Holdsport Limited, and the Development Bank of South Africa.

According to BNN Bloomberg, she has also been in charge of creating oversight for regulatory and enterprise risk management activities across FirstRand.

Now she will be the the first women at the helm of FirstRand. On her appointment, Vilakazi said that was “delighted to be entrusted to lead one of the largest and most profitable financial institutions in Africa”.

The board said it was delighted to appoint a strong internal candidate to the group CEO role.