Chris Wood
Nedbank
Executive: Card Issuing and Payments – Nedbank Limited
Chris Wood, who runs Nedbank’s card issuing business, speaks to Efma’s Boris Plantier about the vibrancy of financial services industry in South Africa and how he’s learnt from past mistakes.
Please tell me a little about your background.
I grew up in Cape Town, in the Western Cape of South Africa, which is also where I studied accounting and law at the University of Stellenbosch. I spent a short while living and working in the US after university and when I returned to South Africa I had a few decisions to make, notably between joining the financial services industry or, on the complete opposite end of the scale, going into golf course design and construction!
Clearly my decision is relatively obvious if you look at where I am now. Since then, I have held a number of roles, with a focus on strategy, payments, product development and innovation. My career in financial services now spans 15 years and I have been incredibly fortunate to work with amazing leaders, mentors and teams as well as travel the world and unlock unbelievable opportunities. I have two young children who keep me very busy, aged two and five and have been married for eight years.
