The Board of Directors of CIEL Finance is pleased to announce the appointment of Lakshman Bheenick as CEO of CIEL Finance, as of 1 March, 2021. He succeeds Marc-Emmanuel Vives who expressed his wish to leave the company for personal and family reasons.

Jean-Pierre Dalais, CIEL Group Chief Executive commented on this transition saying: “Our activities in financial services, particularly in banking, have been growing steadily over the past few years delivering commendable results. I would like to thank Marc-Emmanuel for developing a solid team and leading this journey over the past six years. We see strong growth opportunities in this sector, particularly with regards to our digital banking expertise and positioning in emerging markets. We are therefore excited to welcome Lakshman to accelerate our data driven innovation journey, while positioning CIEL Finance as a true regional financial Group.”

Lakshman Bheenick holds a Bachelor in Economics & Finance from Manchester University and has spent his entire career in banking in Mauritius as well as in Africa. He held key positions in various divisions initially at Barclays Bank and thereafter at Standard Bank Mauritius where he was appointed CEO in July 2010.

Paul Leech, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CIEL Finance added: “I would like, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to warmly thank Marc-Emmanuel for all the work accomplished during his mandate. He reorganised and transformed CIEL Finance which is now strategically positioned in Mauritius and in the region. We are also delighted to welcome Lakshman, who has a solid banking experience and a dynamic profile to drive the group's performance delivering innovative and efficient customer solutions across all segments."

CIEL Finance brings together all of CIEL's banking and financial services activities and represents approximately MUR 37Bn in assets. The portfolio includes two banks, Bank One and BNI Madagascar, as well as MITCO Group in the trust & corporates services sector, IPRO Group in the asset management field, and CIEL Finance Data Services which supports CIEL Finance’s affiliates to deliver digital and data driven solutions.

Commenting on his appointment, Lakshman Bheenick said: “I am delighted to join an extremely dynamic group which has built a strong reputation in the world of financial services in Africa over the past few years. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to further enhance and grow our financial services offering.”