Maria Ramos

Appointed

Maria was appointed an independent non-executive director of Standard Chartered PLC and to the Court of Standard Chartered Bank in January 2021. She was appointed Senior Independent Director of Standard Chartered PLC in September 2022.

Subject to regulatory approvals¹, Maria will assume her new position as Group Chair following the Company’s 2025 AGM on 8 May 2025, when José Viñals will retire from the Board.

Experience

Maria has extensive CEO, banking, commercial, financial, policy and international experience.

Career

Based in South Africa, Maria served as chief executive officer of ABSA Group Limited (previously Barclays Africa Group), a diversified financial services group serving 12 African markets, from 2009 to 2019. Before joining ABSA, Maria was the group chief executive of Transnet Ltd, the state-owned freight transport and logistics service provider, for five years. Prior to her CEO career, Maria served for seven years as director-general of South Africa’s National Treasury (formerly the Department of Finance) where she played a key role in transforming the National Treasury into one of the most effective and efficient state departments in the post-apartheid administration.

Maria has served on a number of international boards, including Sanlam Ltd, Remgro Ltd, and SABMiller plc. She was a non-executive director of The Saudi British Bank, Public Investment Corporation Limited and Chair of AngloGold Ashanti Limited before stepping down in May 2024. She was also a non-executive director of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA before stepping down in March 2025.

External Appointments

Maria is a member of the Group of Thirty, sits on the International Advisory Board of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University and on the Wits Foundation Board of Governors.

¹ Regulatory approval of the PRA, FCA and the right to work in the UK.