- Stephen Ato Frimpong Succeeds Frances Adu-Mante as Absa Ghana Board Chair
Absa Bank Ghana has appointed Stephen Ato Frimpong as Chair of its Board of Directors, placing an experienced audit, risk and corporate-governance professional at the head of the lender’s oversight structure.
The appointment took effect on October 1, 2026, following the completion of Frances Adu-Mante’s tenure as Board Chair on September 30.
Mr Frimpong has served on Absa Bank Ghana’s board as an Independent Non-Executive Director since March 2021. His elevation provides continuity at a time when Ghanaian banks are navigating regulatory changes, cybersecurity threats, digital-payment growth and renewed pressure to expand private-sector credit.
During his five years on the board, Mr Frimpong chaired the Board Audit Committee and the Board Social, Sustainability and Ethics Committee. He previously headed the Board Risk Committee.
He has also served on the Board Remuneration Committee and the Board Information Technology, Cybersecurity and Payment Systems Committee.
That breadth of committee experience gives the new Chair direct exposure to the bank’s financial reporting, risk appetite, technology infrastructure, executive incentives and environmental and social responsibilities.
Mr Frimpong brings experience spanning corporate governance, finance, audit, compliance, fraud investigations, information technology, data privacy and operational risk.
Before retiring in 2020, he served as Vice-President and Chief Audit Executive at Kimberly-Clark Corporation in the United States.
In that role, he led the multinational company’s global internal-audit function and supported its compliance programmes and investigations involving ethical conduct.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Cape Coast and a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant.
His professional background appears closely aligned with the changing responsibilities of bank boards.
Modern banking oversight extends beyond approving strategy and reviewing financial statements. Directors must understand cyber threats, payment-system resilience, regulatory compliance, data protection and the potential operational consequences of increasingly digital customer services.
The growth of mobile and online banking has created opportunities for lenders to reduce costs and expand financial access. It has also made technology governance and fraud prevention central boardroom issues.
Mr Frimpong’s experience across audit, cybersecurity and data privacy could therefore become particularly important as Absa Ghana expands its digital operations while managing operational and reputational risks.
Mr Frimpong succeeds Frances Adu-Mante, who joined the Absa Ghana board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in September 2017.
She was appointed Board Chair in January 2020 and led the board for more than six years.
Absa Bank Ghana expressed appreciation for Mrs Adu-Mante’s leadership, service and contribution to the institution.
The bank’s board, management and employees also congratulated Mr Frimpong and said they were confident in his leadership as Absa entered its “next phase of growth”.
The transition comes as Absa continues to participate in financing transactions across agriculture, energy, capital markets, mining and construction.
Recent transactions involving the bank include a US$50mn facility with the International Finance Corporation to expand cocoa financing, support for PETROSOL’s GH¢200mn note programme and financing connected to Genser Energy’s expansion.
Against that backdrop, the new Board Chair will be expected to balance commercial growth with disciplined risk management.
A bank can expand its loan book and market presence rapidly, but the sustainability of that growth depends on credit quality, regulatory compliance, capital strength and the resilience of its technology systems.
Mr Frimpong’s appointment signals that Absa Ghana is giving those governance considerations a prominent place in its leadership structure.
The measure of the transition will ultimately be whether the bank can translate strong board oversight into responsible credit expansion, improved digital services and sustainable returns without weakening the controls required to protect depositors and shareholders.
