Capitec Bank Appoints Former AWS Executive as CIO
Capitec Bank has appointed Andrew Baker, formerly of Amazon Web Services (AWS), as its new Chief Information Officer. Baker's appointment signals a focus on accelerating the bank's technology modernization and cybersecurity efforts. The move underscores the value financial institutions place on leadership with deep expertise in cloud infrastructure and security.
- Before his promotion to CIO, Andrew Baker served as Capitec's Chief Technology Officer since 2022. In that role, he led the migration of the bank's technology stack to Amazon Web Services and implemented zero-trust security frameworks. - Baker's background includes extensive experience in banking technology, having held key roles at Absa Group and Barclays, including CTO and CIO for Absa's Corporate and Investment Banking division. There, he was involved in integrating Barclays' "Barx" trading platform into Absa's systems. - The previous CIO, Wim de Bruyn, held the position for 11 years and was instrumental in the bank's technology and data transformation. He is not leaving the bank but will lead a new executive portfolio covering payments, value-added services, and foreign exchange. - Capitec's technology strategy heavily emphasizes digital-first banking, with over 90% of transactions happening digitally. The bank is actively investing in AI and machine learning for credit decisioning, fraud detection, and operational efficiency. - The appointment comes as Capitec has shown strong financial growth, with a forecasted 20% to 25% increase in headline earnings for the 2026 financial year, overtaking FirstRand to become South Africa's most valuable bank by market capitalization. - Baker also has advisory experience, having served as an advisor to the US-based cloud security firm Zscaler and the Johannesburg-based IT services firm Sybrin. - The bank is focused on talent development in technology and data, with 22% of new external hires in the 2025 financial year being for these roles. They also run an internal "iAcademy" for tech and data training, offering access to platforms like Udemy and Cloud Guru.
