Michael (age 41) matriculated from Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch in 1985. He completed his M.Comm (Economics) and Ph.D (Banking Supervision) at Stellenbosch University.

1990: Commissioned Officer SA Navy, Gordon’s Bay
Awarded SAS Simonsberg trophy for best Officer on course in the Gordon’s Bay Naval Academy.

1991 – 1992 : Management Trainee with Deutsche Bank, Hamburg
On-the-job training in all aspects of universal banking ranging from teller duties and counter enquiries through personal / corporate lending and investments to international finance.

1992 – 1993: Corporate Banker with Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt
Marketing corporate banking products to German and International companies with emphasis on corporate lending and electronic banking.

1994 – 1995: Class-of programme with RMB, Johannesburg
Project-based programme with experience gathered in the Credit and Corporate Finance divisions of Rand Merchant Bank, ending as personal assistant to the then Managing Director, Paul Harris.

1996 – 1999: CEO: Origin Bank
Involved in convening, establishing and then heading up Origin, the Merchant Bank for Individuals. Origin has subsequently been re-branded as RMB Private Bank.

1999 – 2000: CEO: FNB HomeLoans
Instrumental in strategic repositioning and R400m profit turnaround of FNB HomeLoans.

2000 – 2002: CEO: eBucks.com
Established FNB’s Internet banking and rewards business. In two years the business grew from zero to 500 000 customers and achieved profitability against a backdrop of local and international dot com failures.

2002 – 2004: CEO: FNB Customer Solutions Division
Responsibility for all retail and business products and segments within FNB and eBucks.com. The unit contributed more than R2 billion in pre-tax profits to FirstRand.

2004 – Present: CEO: First National Bank
Business comprises 30 000 staff in six African countries a nd profit before
tax amounts to R8 billion (US$1 billion).

Michael is married to Rosemary and they have 3 daughters – Lauren, Juliette and Jeanne. He enjoys sparkling and red wine and supports competitive SA sports teams. In July 2008 he was selected as a World Economic Forum Global Leader.