Goldman Sachs names new head of Johannesburg office

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs <GS.N> has appointed Jonathan Penkin as head of its Johannesburg office, the bank's base for sub-Saharan Africa where the current chief executive is retiring at the end of the year.

Penkin, who will relocate to Johannesburg, will be named CEO of Goldman Sachs International Bank, Johannesburg branch, pending regulatory approval, and Goldman Sachs International branch manager, the bank said in an internal memo sent on Tuesday.

That will see him lead the Wall Street bank's effort to beef up its African operations. Goldman said in November that Colin Coleman, current CEO for sub-Saharan banker, would retire after almost two decades heading the Johannesburg office.

Penkin joined Goldman as a managing director in 2006 and was named partner in 2010. He has been head of growth markets equity capital markets and chairman of equity capital markets for Asia ex-Japan since 2016.

The memo named Willem Baars and Olivier Frendo as co-heads of Goldman's investment banking division for sub-Saharan Africa. Alongside Penkin, they would oversee strategic initiatives in the region.

Baars joined the bank in 2000 as an analyst and was named managing director in 2012.

Frendo rejoined Goldman in 2018 after leaving a year earlier to co-found an initiative seeking to fund disruptive businesses in Africa. He had previously served as a managing director.

(This story corrects spelling of Colin Coleman's name in third paragraph)

(Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Edmund Blair)