Sonwabo Maholwana joins African Bank's HR leadership

post-title

Sonwabo has been leading the human capital for the organisation’s business banking division since 1 May.

Sonwabo Maholwana has been appointed as head of human capital for African Bank’s Business Banking division.

Bringing over 20 years of HR experience from prominent multinational organisations, Sonwabo has a proven track record in transformational HR strategies.

Previously, he served as HR director at Novartis, where he facilitated business transformation through change management and developed an attractive employer brand.

Before Novartis, Sonwabo led the implementation of people strategies at Boehringer Ingelheim, enhancing the company's value proposition.

His extensive experience also includes roles such as head of HR South Africa for Samsung Electronics and HR director for Africa at Givaudan.

Sonwabo holds a diploma in HR management from Buffalo City College, and a management advancement programme (MAP) postgraduate qualification and industrial relations certificate from Wits Business School.

 

Related articles

2026 Executive Day: CEOs, the C-suite is watching the green and red flags

During an attention-grabbing panel discussion at the 2026 Executive Day, Paul Norman, group CHRO at MTN, and Celiwe Ross, group chief human capital and corporate affairs officer at Old Mutual, put the CEO role under the executive microscope, unpacking the green flags, red flags and everything in between that can make or break the C-suite dynamic.

CHRO Webinar: When AI joins the HR team

A recent webinar, hosted in partnership with Factorial, brought together Neridha Moodley, people and culture lead at SNG Grant Thornton; Zameer Ahmed, head of HR digital transformation at Netcare; and Paolo Urzi, partnership development manager at Factorial, to unpack what responsible AI adoption looks like in practice, and how HR leaders can harness technology without losing sight of the people at the heart of the function.

CHROs reflect on the workplace women truly deserve

What does the workplace women deserve look like? This Women’s Day, we put that question to HR leaders Elanie Kruger, CHRO at Tsebo Solutions Group; Shehnaaz Kajee, head of HR at HBZ Bank; and Sinqobile Khuluse, CPO at Sandock Austral Shipyards, who have a front-row seat to shaping the employee experience.

Embracing the strengths of neurodiversity in the workplace

The term neurodiversity is becoming ubiquitous in a world where the diversity in peoples’ cognitive abilities is being highlighted in the mainstream. Current estimates show that as many as 15 percent to 20 percent of the global population is neurodivergent, meaning that one in five employees falls into this category.

Top