Standard Chartered’s Diana Layfield, current CEO Africa, has decided to leave the Bank for personal reasons.

She has been with the Group for over 10 years in various senior management roles, and in the last four years has successfully led the Bank’s Africa business which has benefited from both organic and inorganic growth.

Layfield has overseen strategic investment in Africa including capability enhancing acquisitions such as First Africa, a boutique M&A consultancy, and the Barclays Africa and Absa Bank South Africa custody business, serving to position Standard Chartered as one of the leading custody service providers in Africa.

Throughout her tenure, she has positioned the Bank to make a tangible contribution to developing Africa’s capital markets, thereby entrenching the Bank’s partnerships with governments and policy makers across the region.

Standard Chartered is now the official ratings advisor to five African governments, promoting regional investment potential and enabling markets to diversify their investor base, internationally.

Underscoring the Bank’s leading role in infrastructure development, she led Standard Chartered’s $5bn commitment to President Obama’s Power Africa partnership - a collective campaign which aims to bring new power to over 20 million businesses and African households by the end of 2018.

Standard Chartered has also announced a new Management Team to lead and run the Group, led by Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive.

The Bank’s Africa business will be grouped with the Middle East business, effective October 1, 2015.

Sunil Kaushal, currently India CEO, will move to a new role as Regional CEO, Africa & Middle East, effective from October 1, 2015.

Commenting on Kaushal’s appointment, Layfield said: “Sunil’s understanding of emerging market and product trends from one of the Bank’s most dynamic markets, India, will deliver strategic benefit for our clients, staff and external stakeholders across Africa and the Middle East.”

The Group has also simplified its organizational structure to improve accountability, speed up decision making, reduce bureaucracy and play a key part in delivering the previously announced $1.8bn of cost savings by the end of 2017.

“These regional and leadership changes will enhance excellence and consistency across all our regions and product offerings, providing best-in class infrastructure with a set of globally developed products. Our more focused approach will allow us to have cutting edge innovation and consistency in standards,” Layfield told Africa Global Funds.

The new structure will be phased in from October 1, 2015, and will be fully in place by January 1, 2016.

The Group’s financial reporting will be based on the new structure from January 1, 2016.