According to TechCentral, Alpheus Mangale, chief executive of Seacom, resigned from the board of Absa Group with immediate effect. The bank said in an investor statement that Mangale, who had served as an independent non-executive director since July 2023, left for “personal reasons and future commitments” and that his resignation took effect on 8 October.
In his role on the board, Mangale sat on three committees: the group risk and capital management committee, the remuneration committee and the IT committee. All three committee memberships ended at the same time as his board seat. The board thanked him for his contributions and wished him well in his future endeavours.
Background to the resignation
Seacom announced a day earlier that Mangale had been placed on special leave while an independent third party investigates allegations about the way the company is being run. Seacom chairman Pieter Uys described the step as a precaution and said there was no implication of guilt. The investigation is expected to report back within about a month, and chief financial officer Charl Slabbert is acting as interim CEO.
Mangale joined Absa’s board only a few months after becoming Seacom’s CEO in April 2023. Prior to that he spent more than 15 years at Dimension Data and held senior roles at Standard Bank, including group chief information officer and head of IT engineering. His background in technology and finance made him a natural fit for the board committees he served on.
Absa did not link Mangale’s resignation to the Seacom investigation, and the bank’s statement made no reference to the internal probe. For Absa, the departure creates a vacancy on three key committees, which may require a quick appointment to maintain continuity in risk oversight, remuneration policy and IT strategy.
The episode adds to a recent pattern of heightened scrutiny of board composition in South African listed companies. Regulators and investors have been urging greater transparency and independence on boards, especially after high-profile governance failures in other sectors. While the immediate impact on Absa’s day-to-day operations is likely limited, the resignation underscores the importance of clear separation between a director’s external business interests and board responsibilities.
For stakeholders in the telecom and banking sectors, the story highlights how corporate governance issues in one company can ripple into board dynamics at another, especially when senior executives hold multiple high-profile roles.
Absa’s investor statement on Thursday confirmed that Mangrove’s departure was “due to personal reasons and future commitments”, and the bank formally thanked him for his contribution since joining in July 2023. The wording of the release mirrors the language used in the earlier announcement of his resignation, underscoring that the board chose to frame the exit as amicable and unrelated to any performance issues. By specifying the effective date of 8 October, the statement also satisfies the requirement for prompt disclosure of board changes to shareholders and the market, a practice that has become standard after recent governance reviews.
The independent third-party investigation that prompted Mangrove’s special leave is slated to report back within about a month, according to the board’s request. This timeframe reflects a typical precautionary approach, allowing sufficient time for the investigator to gather evidence while limiting prolonged uncertainty for the company. The board’s description of the step as “just a precaution” signals that no presumption of guilt has been attached to the allegations, a nuance that aims to protect both the individual’s reputation and the firm’s operational stability during the inquiry.
With Mangrove’s resignation, the group risk and capital management committee, the remuneration committee and the IT committee each lost a member simultaneously. Such simultaneous vacancies can disrupt the continuity of oversight functions, prompting the board to consider swift appointments to fill the gaps. In practice, the board would convene a nominating committee to identify suitable independent non-executive directors, ensuring that the new appointees meet the independence criteria set out by the JSE and can contribute immediately to the committees’ ongoing work.
Seacom’s decision to place Mangrove on special leave and to engage an independent investigator was presented as a precautionary measure, with chairman Pieter Uys emphasizing that “there’s nothing that says he’s guilty of anything”. The same communication noted that chief financial officer Charl Slabbert is standing in as interim CEO, a move that maintains executive leadership while the probe proceeds. By appointing an internal executive to the interim role, Seacom avoids a leadership vacuum and signals to investors that day-to-day operations remain under control.
Absa explicitly stated that it did not link Mangrove’s resignation to the Seacom investigation, reinforcing the separation between the two organisations’ governance matters. This distinction aligns with the broader trend of heightened scrutiny on board composition across South African listed companies, where regulators and investors have been urging greater transparency and independence. The episode therefore adds another data point to the ongoing dialogue about how senior executives balance multiple directorships and the mechanisms companies employ to safeguard board integrity.
