Rational Perspective

We never chatted about it in this interview, but Absa CEO Maria Ramos is sure to allow herself a wry smile when reflecting on the latest rockets to hit her former bosses at Barclays. Because while Ramos was making a massive statement in Davos with the newly independent Absa, her previous bosses, including ex-Barclays CEO John Varley, were in a London court charged with fraud and corruption involving their direct involvement bribes paid to the facilitator of a $3bn Qatari investment. By contrast, Ramos has an unblemished reputation in decades of running SA's Treasury and Transnet en route to her directing of Africa's largest retail bank. She is also a long-time Davos attendee, including having co-chaired the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. But this year was surely the highlight of her decades long participation as Absa became the first African business to take a major presence on the Davos high street (the Promenade) to celebrate its arrival as a major continental force. As Ramos explains in this interv