Equity Group appoints Christopher Newson as non-executive board director

Equity Group Holdings Plc has announced the appointment of Christopher Newson as a Non-Executive Director to its Board.

Christopher is a career banker with over 29 years of unique expertise in Investment and Commercial Banking and Alternative Asset Management gained in relation to Sub-Saharan Africa, with the last nine years being at the chief executive level.

Christopher spent 24 years with the Standard Bank Group in several executive roles including Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Standard Bank for Africa, CEO of Stanbic IBTC in Nigeria and the Director of Corporate and Investment Bank.

He was a member of Stanbic Holdings Limited Board, Stanbic Bank Kenya Limited Board, Stanbic Ghana, Standard Bank Mauritius and Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc (Nigeria).

More recently, he was the Director for Private Markets at Investec Asset Management (now Ninety-One Asset Management).

He is the current Non-Executive Chairman of Distell International Holdings Ltd and is a Non-Executive Director of Bayport Management Limited.

Equity Group Chairman Isaac Macharia described Christopher as a seasoned banker with immense experience across the region that will be useful to the board in its strategic oversight in the region.

“We are pleased to welcome Christopher to the Equity Group board. He has vast experience in senior leadership, management and Board level governance, relationship management, integration and business expansion experience in financial services, risk and governance disciplines and diverse business maturities. His willingness to seek new challenges, resilience, energy, intellect and desire to make a difference make him a great fit for the Group,” Prof. Macharia said.

Commenting on the board appointment, Christopher noted: “I am truly honored to join the Board of Equity Group, one of the fastest-growing financial institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and at a time when we are expanding our footprint in DRC.”

Christopher holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a Certification in Theory of Accounting (CTA) from the University of Cape Town.

He is a Chartered Accountant of South Africa and completed a Columbia Senior Executive Program.