NAB appoints first-ever Executive for Technology, Data and Digital; AMP recruits AustralianSuper’s tech chief; and the RBA appoints new Payments Policy chief.
Australia
– AMP has recruited AustralianSuper’s inaugural group executive of technology Felicia Trewin, appointing her to lead the financial group’s tech function.
As AMP’s newly appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Trewin will be tasked with overseeing the group’s technology strategy and accelerating cross-business adoption of digital and data technology.
A 25-veteran of enterprise technology, Trewin joins AMP from Australia’s biggest industry super fund, where, since 2018, she has headed its technology function and strategy.
AMP Chief Executive, Alexis George praised her latest senior recruit’s “extensive experience in the wealth and banking industries”, bringing “energy and a fresh perspective” to the group’s technology function.
“Digital and data is a key enabler of our strategy and we are pleased to have secured a technology leader of Felicia’s capability to drive our agenda forward.”
“Through her career, Felicia has worked work on the full spectrum of technology from development of new tech through to large program delivery and optimisation. We look forward to welcoming her to AMP.”
Prior to this role, Trewin worked at ANZ Bank in technology leadership roles, including establishing the bank’s Emerging Technology Labs, as well as in strategy and business optimisation for the corporate and commercial bank. She has also served at Microsoft, Deloitte and Accenture, working across Australia, the US and UK.
Trewin will commence her new role in March 2022, reporting to AMP Chief Executive Alexis George.
AustralianSuper has announced it will commence recruitment for the senior tech role in the new year. In the interim, Peter Curtis, Group Executive Finance and Operations, will have executive accountability for technology services.
– Stevie-Ann Dovico has jumped ship from Westpac, appointed by NAB to a newly created role of Executive Technology, Data and Digital.
Dovico served nearly 12 years as Westpac’s Head of Technology for its Consumer Product & Chief Brand and Marketing Office, with the bank’s Head of Enterprise Applications Justene McDowell stepping in to Dovico’s former role on an interim basis.
Dovico will oversee the strategic direction and growth of NAB’s data and digital delivery functions as well as business partnership and outcome delivery for the personal bank’s core channels, NAB CIO Anastasia Cammaroto said.
“I feel incredibly privileged for the opportunity to make a difference across so many parts of the bank over the years,” Dovico wrote on a LinkedIn post announcing her departure.
Dovico commenced her new role at NAB at the end of November.
– Cover-More, the Zurich-owned travel insurance provider, has announced its replacement for group CIO Nicki Doble, appointing the London-based Conor Breslin to the role.
Breslin commenced in the role at the beginning of October, with Nicki Doble having handed over the reins of the firm’s IT team and strategic IT priorities since then.
Breslin will also report directly to Cover-More Group Chief Executive Cara Morton.
“As we continue to evolve our app-based customer propositions and open up a new world of travel protection for travellers, the role of CIO is critical to ensure our technology is best in class,” Morton said.
“Conor brings a wealth of industry experience that will underpin our continued strong emergence from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global travel and the travel industry.”
Breslin works from the company’s London office and oversees IT teams across the US, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe.
He joined Cover-More from UK-based Provident Financial Group and Vanquis Bank, holding the position of CIO at both companies.
– Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has appointed Ellis Connolly as the Head of the central bank’s Payments Policy Department.
Connolly, a 20-year veteran of the RBA, most recently served as Deputy Head, Financial Markets Infrastructure in Payments Policy Department, responsible for the supervision of the RBA’s clearing and settlement facilities and payment systems.
The Payments System Board is responsible for the promotion of efficiency and competition in the Australian payments system.
Connolly steps into the role vacated by Dr Tony Richards, who announced his retirement from the RBA.
He commences in late December 2021, reporting to Michele Bullock, Assistant Governor (Financial System).
Bullock praised Ellis as “strong leader with a high level of skill in analysis and strategic thinking”, bringing a “wealth of experience in regulation, the operation of markets and economics.
“His experience will be important as we pursue strategic priorities in payments policy.”
– BNPL and payments provider, Zip, has appointed Cynthia Scott as Managing Director for A/NZ, responsible for leading Zip’s operations in Australia and New Zealand.
Scott will report directly to Zip’s Global Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder Peter Gray.
“Cynthia’s leadership and experience will be invaluable in driving Zip in the ANZ region and guiding the business through our next exciting stage as we progress from a pure BNPL player to much, much more,” Gray said.
Zip has also appointed Levi Aron as Chief Growth Officer for the US market operation.
Aron will head up Zip’s corporate strategy, sales excellence, and new digital market-driven innovation initiatives.
– The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has appointed Prue Monument as General Manager of Code Compliance and Monitoring as well as Chief Executive of the Banking Code Compliance Committee.
Rene van de Rijdt, who has served as acting GM of Code Compliance and Monitoring since March, will serve in the new position of Deputy General Manager.
Monument joins AFCA from Australia’s higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, where she was Executive Director, Quality Assurance & Regulatory Operations.
The Code Compliance and Monitoring Team conducts code monitoring activities across AFCA’s various committees, investigating alleged code breaches as well as sharing examples of good industry practice.
AFCA Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman David Locke noted Monument’s “extensive regulatory and self-regulatory experience”, which he said would bring “a strong focus on practice improvement and public benefit”.
“She will ensure that both financial firms and consumers benefit from the work the Code Team does to monitor and influence good industry practice.”
– QBE has promoted Amanda Hughes to the position of Group Executive, People and Culture.
Hughes formerly served as QBE’s Group Head of Culture, Performance and Reward.
She replaces Margaret Murphy who served nearly three years as People and Change chief. QBE said she will work closely with Hughes before departing QBE in late March next year.
QBE Group Chief Executive Andrew Horton praised Hughes as a “respected leader with significant human resources (HR) experience”.
“We are fortunate to have such high calibre leaders within our organisation and Amanda’s appointment is a great example of how we are accelerating our talent and leadership strategy.”
Hughes commences her new role this month.
Leading QBE’s culture program, which is responsible for diversity and inclusion, Hughes’ role was recently expanded to include HR accountability for QBE’s corporate functions.
During her 17 years in human resources role, she has held executive positions at Lendlease, Macquarie Group and most recently AMP, where she was Director of People and Culture.
– Mine Super has formally appointed Vasyl Nair as Chief Executive following the departure of Harry Mitchell earlier this year.
Nair has been who has been acting in the role since Mitchell’s departure in March.
Mine Super chair Grahame Kelly recognised Nair as “an integral part of the executive team”, overseeing “a rebrand, new administration platform implementation, investment strategy overhaul, insurer change and risk transformation”.
“These efforts see us placed as one of Australia’s top performing funds over the last financial year.”
Prior to this role, Nair served as Mine’s Deputy Chief Executive for just over a year, having been promoted from Chief Risk Officer.
Nair has previously held senior roles with Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and law firm Piper Alderman. Between May 2020 and September 2021 Nair was also on the board of Recreo, the administration platform that Mine Super owns a majority stake in.
– The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has appointed Liza Carver as ACCC Commissioner for a five‑year term, commencing 1 March 2022.
Carver fills a vacancy in the role following the appointment of former ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court as Deputy Chair of ASIC.
Chair Rod Sims said he was “delighted with the appointment”, with Carver set to bring “extensive legal and regulatory experience to the ACCC”.
Carver most recently served as Regional Head of Competition, Australia at Herbert Smith Freehills, and has wide-ranging experience in mergers, competition and consumer enforcement, cartels and infrastructure.
“Liza has been consistently ranked as one of Australia’s leading competition lawyers,” Sims said. “We are pleased she has re-joined the ACCC and her experience and expertise in matters involving the Competition and Consumer Act will be of great benefit to the agency.”
– Investment company, Bell Financial Group (BFG) has appointed Joe Tillig as Chief Technology Officer.
In the newly created role, Tillig will report to BFG’s executive chair Alastair Provan, overseeing a team of around 90 IT and development specialists within Australia and offshore.
Tillig will be tasked with the strategic alignment technology across the Bell group, which includes Bell Potter, Bell Commodities, Bell FX, Bell Potter Capital, Bell Direct, Desktop Broker and Bell Potter Online.
A 20-year veteran of the technology function, Tillig has served across a number of industries, including energy, finance IT, media, telecommunications, and logistics.
He joins BFG from fintech Nimble, where he served as Chief Digital and Innovation Officer, overseeing strategy, delivery, engineering, and DevOps.
– The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has appointed Kirsten Fish as a Second Commissioner for the ATO for a seven-year period.
Fish has been acting Second Commissioner for the past 12 months, leading the Law Design and Practice Group at the ATO.
She was previously the ATO’s Chief Tax Counsel, one of the highest legal authorities within the ATO and head of the Tax Counsel Network, providing technical leadership of significant tax issues, cases and rulings.
New Zealand
– SBS Bank has announced the appointment of Mark McLean as Group Chief Executive, following the departure of Shaun Drylie.
McLean has served in various roles across his decade-long tenure at the bank, including as Chief Risk Officer and Acting Interim CEO, and most recently headed up SBS’s Branch Network, Contact Centre, Marketing and Customer Insight divisions as General Manager Member Experience.
“As a long-serving member of the Executive team, Mark has been heavily involved in developing and delivering our strategy. His appointment will ensure we have continuity moving forward and that we do not lose any momentum,” SBS said in a statement.
Drylie will leave the organisation in December.
– Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua, has appointed John McDermott to the new role of Assistant Governor/General Manager – Digital Solutions and Security.
McDermott joined RBNZ in 2019 “bringing extensive public and private sector experience in digital and cyber security strategy, capability uplift and operational leadership”, the RBNZ said in a statement. He has been Acting Assistant Governor/General Manager of Business Operations since April 2021.
The new Digital Solutions and Security role will be responsible for developing and overseeing the delivery of the RBA’s digital and security functions.
“Mr McDermott will be instrumental in enabling Te Pūtea Matua to achieve operational excellence across digital and security,” said RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr.
– Delta Insurance Group has appointed Miranda Cook as Head of Marketing.
Cook will head the Group’s marketing function, including its Singapore and future overseas offices.
In a statement, Delta said the role will “also play a key role in the company’s environment, social and governance (ESG) planning and activities”.
Cook joins Delta from Microsoft, where she served as Integrated Marketing Manager. She has more than 20 years’ marketing, brand and communications experience, with around seven years in the insurance sector.
“These are exciting times for us, and the scale of our marketing needs has grown,” Delta Chief Operating Officer Kent Chaplin said. “We’re thrilled to bring Miranda into the team to take charge of that side of the business.”
– New Zealand’s Financial Markets Association, the professional body representing the institutional banking sector, has appointed Sarah Vrede as Chief Executive.
Vrede most recently served as Director of Capital Markets at the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko.
Vrede will take up her new role early in 2022.
Acting Chief Executive Liam Mason praised Vrede for her “strong leadership” over her two-year headship of the capital markets function.
The FMA’s Director Investment Management Paul Gregory had been appointed Acting Director of Capital Markets, effective 29 November 2021.
Departures
– The Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) has announced Chief Executive of Australian, Inspector-General in Bankruptcy and Registrar of Personal Property Securities, Hamish McCormick, will formally retire from the agency. McCormick had served in the role since 2017.
AFSA Deputy Chief Executive Gavin McCosker will act as Chief Executive in the interim.
In a statement, AFSA recognised McCormick’s “significant contributions to many key projects including our work in modernising and improving our services for stakeholders through digital transformation and our focus on highlighting the importance of diversity in the insolvency sector”.
“He has also played an integral role in driving compliance in the personal insolvency system and improving tools and information for consumers in the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).”
The Attorney-General is currently recruiting for McCormick’s replacement.
– The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ’s) Head of Economics and Chief Economist, Yuong Ha is set to leave the role after a total of 25 years with the central bank.
Ha, who joined the RBNZ in 1997, is also an internal member of the Monetary Policy Committee. He will leave both roles next year, departing after the RBNZ’s Monetary Policy Statement in February 2022.
The RBNZ Board (including the Governor) and NZ Government are currently recruiting for Ha’s replacement.
Board
AusPayNet has appointed John Brogden AM as its Independent Chair for a three-year term, effective 1 January 2022.
AusPayNet Chief Executive, Andy White, recognised Brogden’s “knowledge of financial services, industry bodies, government, and corporate governance”.
“Especially at a time when we are leading the modernisation of Australia’s payment system, setting standards that apply across the payments industry, and providing strategic insights to Government and payments regulators,” he added.
Brogden was formerly Leader of the Opposition in NSW, retiring from politics in 2005. Since then, he has held a number of executive roles, including as Chief Executive of Manchester Unity, the Financial Services Council, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and Landcom (a role he will step down from in April 2022).
At the board level, Brogden has chaired Abacus Australian Mutuals (now COBA), Lifeline, and Landcom (prior to being appointed CEO).
– Macquarie Bank has announced the appointment of Glenn Stevens as Chair of Macquarie Group.
Stevens is perhaps best known as Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia between 2006 and 2016, working at the senior levels of the central bank for more than 20 years.
Stevens has also made important contributions to a number of Australian and international boards and committees, including as chair of the Australian Council of Financial Regulators between 2006 and 2016, as a member of the Financial Stability Board and on a range of G20 committees, and as a current Board member of NSW Treasury Corporation.
He replaces Peter Warne, who earlier this year announced he would retire by Macquarie’s 2022 Annual General Meeting.
Warne has been Chair of the Macquarie Group Limited and Macquarie Bank Limited boards since April 2016 and a director of both entities since 2007.
Stevens was appointed an Independent Voting Director of MGL and of MBL in November 2017, has chaired the Board Risk Committee since November 2019 and also serves as a member of the Board Audit and Board Nominating Committees.
Macquarie has also announced the forthcoming retirement of Diane Grady.
Grady has been a director of MGL and MBL since May 2011 and is a member of the Board Governance and Compliance Committee, Board Nominating Committee, Board Remuneration Committee and Board Risk Committee.
– Defence Bank had reappointment Directors Joan Fitzpatrick and Anne Myers for a further three-year term.
Fitzpatrick has served on the Defence Bank Board since 2015.
She has also served as Chief Executive and Director of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance & Finance for more than 16 years.
Myers was first appointed to the Board in November 2015 and re-elected in 2018.
Her previous executive roles included Chief Operating Officer of ING Direct and interim Chief Executive for United Way.
– AustralianSuper has appointed Philippa Kelly as Independent Director and Chair of Investment Committee.
AustralianSuper Chair, Don Russell, praised Kelly as a “very highly skilled investment professional who brings a wide range of experience to AustralianSuper”
Kelly formerly served as Chief Operating Officer at the Juilliard Group and as Head of Institutional Funds Management at Vicinity Centres. She is a Director of oOh!media and Deputy Chancellor of Deakin University.
– New Zealand’s TSB Bank has announced the appointment of Mark Darrow as Non-Executive Director and Chair Elect to its board, with Darrow set to step into the role in February 2022.
Darrow has spent the last 15 years in governance roles as an Independent Director and chair across a number of sectors, including financial services, FMCG, manufacturing, automotive and transport, primary sector, health, education, and investment. His current roles include Inland Revenue, Auckland Transport, Armstrong’s, Leighs Construction and Invivo & Co.
Darrow’s appointment follows the announcement that Chair John Kelly will step down from the role in June 2022 after six years in the role – and 13 years on the Board.
Kelly said Darrow’s governance experience would put him in good stead on the TSB board, adding “immense value to the board’s existing set of expertise and capabilities, and… help support the executive team to steer TSB into the future”.
– Insurtech Australia (IA) has appointed James Orchard, QBE Ventures Chief Executive, and Vanessa Dobson, Hollard IT Business Engagement Head to its board following the announcement of the departure of director Andy Jamieson.
A future vote will also be held for the role of Chair.
Dobson, who also holds the role of Company Secretary, recognised IA as “a fun, collegiate, generous community to be a part of”.
“I look forward to serving in a new capacity,” she said.
