September saw a number of key appointments and departures across Australia’s financial services sector, with noteworthy additions to Westpac, Latitude, and IAG.

Appointments

Westpac has appointed of Chris de Bruin as Chief Executive of its Consumer division. A 24-year veteran of financial services, de Bruin joins Westpac from Dubai-based Deem.

Latitude Financial Services has appointed Kshira Saagar (pictured) to the position of Chief Data Officer. Joining Latitude in October, the credit card company and lender said Saagar will expand its digital and data capabilities and build out “personalised merchant and consumer experiences”.

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has promoted Deputy Chief Executive, Nick Hawkins, to the position of Chief Executive. The promotion follows the announcement of the retirement of former CEO Peter Harmer. Hawkins formerly served 12 years as IAG’s Chief Financial Officer.

AMP Australia has appointed Gillian Davie as Head of People and Culture. Davie formerly served as executive head of human resources at retail giant Woolworths.

Westpac has formally appointed Joanne Dawson to the position of Group Treasurer. Dawson had been acting in the role since July. She was previously Deputy Group Treasurer for Westpac serving more than a decade in the role.

MLC Life Insurance has appointed Sean McCormack to lead its life insurance division as Chief Life Insurance Officer. The appointment follows the merger of MLC’s group and retail life insurance divisions. MLC Life said the restructure will help improve experiences for customers, financial advisers, and superannuation funds, conceding that its “current level of service is not acceptable”.

Hollard has formally appointed Jack Joubert to the position of Chief Executive Commercial Insurance.  Joubert has served in an acting capacity since June.

Iress has appointed Joydip Das to the position of Chief Product Officer.

Westpac has appointed Peter “PJ” Taylor to a senior risk management role. Taylor most recently served as CBA’s Executive General Manager for Operational Risk.

CoreLogic has appointed Eugene Vassiliev to the position of Head of Financial Services Solutions Australasia, taskin with providing operational efficiency and digitisation solutions for the financial services industry.

ANZ has appointed Rufus Pinto to the position of Country Head Philippines.

Globally, Citi has appointed Jane Fraser, the bank’s current president, as Chief Executive, marking the first time a major Wall Street bank will be led by a woman.

Departures

Rob Pickering, Chief Technology Officer at Cbus, has announced his departure from the superannuation fund. He has accepted a new role with the AFL.

Westpac has announced the departure of Curt Zuber, Acting Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB). Zuber will retire in 2021.

Board:

Westpac has appointed Michael (Mike) Hawker to its Westpac Board effective November 2020. Independent non-executive director, Alison Deans has also announced her retirement from the Westpac Board at the conclusion of the 2020 Annual General Meeting on 11 December. Joining the Board in 2014, Deans served on Board Risk, Remuneration, Nominations and Technology Committees.

The ASX has announced the retirement of Peter Warne from its Board. Warne served more than 14 years on the ASX board and as member of the Audit and Risk Committee, Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committees.

ING Australia has appointed Lisa Gray as a non-executive director. A 30-year veteran of financial services, Gray has held senior executive roles across private and public sector businesses, including NAB, MLC, Plum Financial Services and Axa.

Media Super has announced the appointment of Susan Heaney to its board following the retirement of Gerard Noonan.

Michael Hawker has announced he will step down from the boards of both Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank at the end of October.