Margaret Nienaber is Standard Bank Group’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the Technology, Operations, Real Estate, Brand & Marketing and future ready capabilities. She assumed the role of COO in July 2022, after serving as Chief Executive for the Group’s Client Solutions business since January 2021.

Prior to this, Margaret was the Chief Executive of Standard Bank’s Wealth division, a business that has been recognised as Africa’s Best Bank for Wealth Management by Euromoney and boasts the largest Bancassurance arrangement on the African continent. It was also named Top Stockbroker in South Africa by Intellidex and recognised in Nigeria as the country’s largest pension fund administrator and asset manager. Margaret has been with the group for 12 years.

Prior to joining Standard Bank, Margaret served on the Santam Executive team and managed People and Brand, as well as the business’s South-East Asia expansion.

In 2013, she was recognised as the Most Influential Woman in Business and Government (Financial Sector), and during her years in the insurance industry, was a board member of the South African Insurance Association and President of the Insurance Institute of South Africa.

Margaret is a member of the Women Executive 50 community, an invitation-only forum for senior female executives of globally respected organisations. She is also an active member of the International Women’s Forum, where she focuses on looking after strategic alliances across Africa. Moreover, she was part of the UNICEF Influential Women’s Circle and the Mastercard Regional Advisory Board.

Margaret holds a BCompt and BCompt (Hons) degrees and qualified as a CA (SA) in 1997.