NAB announces exec shake-up as Slade and Goonan head for exit; Westpac and Latitude name new finance chiefs; and AusPayNet nominates industry reps to board.
Executive
◼️ NAB has announced several changes to its executive line-up with the forthcoming departures of Group Executive, Business & Private Banking (B&PB) Rachel Slade and Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nathan Goonan.
Andrew Auerbach (pictured) will succeed Slade as head of the B&PB division, joining NAB on 16 June.
Auerbach joins from Canadian wealth management firm Delisle Advisory Group, a company he co-founded and currently leads as Chief Executive.
Hailed by NAB as an “experienced business and wealth banker”, Auerbach has served more than 21 years in senior executive roles with the Bank of Montreal (BMO), a Canadian ‘big five’ bank, including most recently as EVP and Head, BMO Private Wealth, Canada & Asia.
He served concurrently at BMO with recently appointed NAB Chief Executive Andrew Irvine.
Prior to joining BMO, Auerbach was with Canada Trust (now operating as TD Canada Trust), a leading commercial bank, for more than a decade.
NAB chief Irvine hailed Auerbach’s “strong track record of improving both customer experiences and financial performance”.
He welcomed the new B&PB head as “a tremendous addition… and a strong leader for our leading business bank as we continue to execute our strategy and drive performance in a competitive environment.”
Peter Whitelaw, currently Executive, Chief Resilience Risk Officer, a role he has held for nearly five years, will step up to temporarily replace Goonan as acting as Group CRO.
Whitelaw, who has notched up nearly 40 years in the financial services sector, previously held Chief Risk Officer roles with the bank, including as CRO of Technology & Operations and CRO of Corporate & Institutional Banking.
Commenting on the forthcoming departures of Slade and Goonan, Irvine recognised the pair’s dedication to NAB and their support of successive Group CEOs.
“I have appreciated their support in our time together and wish them well for the future,” Irvine said.
Slade, who joined NAB in 2017, was appointed to the Executive Leadership Team in 2018 as Chief Customer Experience Officer, then Group Executive, Personal Banking in 2020. She became Group Executive, B&PB last year with Irvine’s appointment to NAB Group CEO.
Goonan, who makes the move to rival Westpac (see below), served with NAB for more than 15 years over two periods, joining the Executive Leadership Team in 2020 as Group Executive, Strategy & Innovation. He was appointed Group CFO in 2023.
◼️ Westpac has appointed Nathan Goonan as Chief Financial Officer.
Westpac CEO Anthony Miller welcomed the ex-NAB CFO’s “extensive experience in financial services, both locally and globally”.
“Nathan is a seasoned financial services executive, with more than 20 years’ experience across all aspects of banking. I’m delighted to appoint someone of Nathan’s calibre to this role. His breadth of knowledge across many areas, coupled with his deep expertise in finance, makes him an ideal fit,” Miller said.
Michael Rowland, current Chief Financial Officer, will remain in his role until Goonan joins Westpac later this year. Rowland announced his retirement at the end of 2024.
Goonan began his career in mergers and acquisitions at NAB before moving into investment banking.
Prior to becoming NAB Group CFO and his tenure as Group Executive Strategy & Innovation, he held various roles across the big four bank covering strategy, innovation, corporate affairs and mergers and acquisitions.
◼️ Latitude Group has also appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, with New York-based Guillaume Leger to take on the senior role.
He replaces Stefano Tognon, who stepped in as Interim CFO in January 2025.
Leger joins from the ASX-listed investment services group Omni Bridgeway, where he has served as CFO since 2022, based in New York. He was also responsible for global fundraising and strategic business development efforts alongside the company’s CEO.
Before joining Omni Bridgeway, Leger held leadership roles including Group Controller of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., a Fortune 200 company and CFO at Citigroup in Hong Kong after holding a range of senior positions across Citigroup Inc.’s business in North America, Asia, New Zealand, Australia and Brazil.
Latitude Managing Director and CEO Bob Belan said he was pleased to welcome “someone of Guillaume’s talent, track record and experience to the company”.
“His appointment adds even further depth to our high-calibre executive team and I look forward to working with him closely to deliver on our strategic and commercial objectives,” Belan said.
Commenting on his new role, Leger said: “I am very impressed with Latitude’s strategic ambitions and humbled to be joining such a talented team. The company is clearly well-positioned to win in the marketplace and deliver sustainable value to shareholders. I am excited to be a part of that and to [be] contributing to Latitude’s success in the years ahead.”
Leger joins Latitude on 16 June 2025.
Tognon will remain Interim CFO until 15 June 2025 where he will return to lead Latitude’s Treasury and Corporate Development functions.
◼️ ASX-listed neolender Wisr has appointed Álvaro Carpio Colón as its inaugural Chief Innovation Officer.
Álvaro in his new role will be responsible for leading Wisr’s design, technology and product teams, shaping its innovation strategy and product roadmap as well as seeking out opportunities to elevate customer experiences.
Colón served over a decade with professional services group Accenture, most recently as Head of Product Innovation and Transformation at Accenture Song, the firm’s data and AI focused marketing arm. As part of this role, he managed strategy and business operations, working with big-name clients in the ASX50 and across APAC.
Wisr Chief Executive Andrew Goodwin recognised Colón’s “deep experience across innovation, technology and financial services, [making] him the right person to drive forward Wisr’s product innovation strategy.”
Colón said he was eager to build on Wisr’s growth trajectory and “to accelerate this momentum by launching new products that help Australians make smarter financial decisions”.
“We have a unique opportunity to harness the latest technologies, from AI to intelligent systems, to design solutions that improve Australians’ financial lives,” he added.
◼️ Australian Unity has announced the forthcoming departure of Managing Director and Chief Executive Rohan Mead.
“Mead will leave Australian Unity in a strong position, with a diversified portfolio of thematically linked businesses providing a range of products and services to support the health, wealth and care needs of its members and customers,” the firm said in a statement.
Australian Unity Chair, Lisa Chung AM paid tribute to the long-serving Mead, praising his leadership and contribution over his two decades with the firm. She noted that, during his tenure, the diversified financial services group has grown revenues from $400 million to $2.3 billion, employees from 1,300 to 10,000, and a current membership of more than 370,000 and customer base of more than 700,000.
“Throughout Mr Mead’s tenure, he has had a vision for Australian Unity to be recognised and respected as a leading purpose-driven organisation. He has tangibly extended the reach and influence of Australian Unity as an advocate for real wellbeing in the wider community,” the firm said.
Mead for his part said: “It has been a joy and privilege to serve as Australian Unity’s Managing Director. I am humbled by, and proud of, having worked with such capable and committed colleagues in delivering valued services for our members and customers.”
Mead will retire at the end of 2025 after 21 years in the role.
Australian Unity said it has commenced an internal and external search for his replacement.
◼️ Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has formally appointed Matthew Finney to the role of Head of Insurance.
Finney is currently Chief Executive of ART Life, a wholly owned subsidiary of ART specialising in life insurance.
Finney was appointed Interim Chief Executive last October following the promotion of Phil Fraser to CFO.
Previously, Finney was ART Life’s Head of Insurance Solutions and Insights, overseeing product design, pricing, data management and actuarial, and leveraging data analytics.
Prior to joining ART in 2020, Finney served 12 years at Suncorp Life, most recently as Executive Manager of Portfolio, Pricing and Reinsurance.
Commenting on Finney’s appointment, ART Chief Operating Officer Kathy Vincent said: “Matt has done an exceptional job as Interim ART Life Chief Executive over the last six months and will position ART Life well to execute on its strategic ambition of becoming a world-class group life insurer.”
◼️ Beyond Bank has announced the forthcoming departure of Interim CEO Wayne Matters, with David Marshall to take on the role permanently.
Matters, who has worked at the Bank for almost 24 years and is currently Interim CEO, will retire on 24 April, handing over the reins to David Marshall, who will commence on 26 March.
Matters served as Deputy CEO of Beyond since 2013.
Marshall was previously CEO of Ultradata and with executive experience at Defence Bank, Hume Bank, Commonwealth Bank, and Westpac, was appointed as CEO in January 2025.
“It is with both sadness and gratitude that we say goodbye to Wayne but we wish him all the very best for a long, healthy and happy retirement,” said Beyond Bank Chair Sam Andersen in a statement.
“Wayne’s commitment to diligent financial governance has kept our financial position strong over many years, and we are truly grateful to him for leading this area so capably.
Andersen recognised Matters’ “substantial contribution to our culture across more than two decades, championing diversity and inclusion as well as advocating strongly for the Bank’s leadership development initiatives”.
“During his tenure, he has sat on several industry working groups, supported countless community initiatives and overseen the bank’s early work in the establishment of a climate-reporting framework.”
Board
◼️ CBA has announced the appointment of Alistair Currie to its board as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
Currie is currently Group Chief Operating Officer at Barclays PLC, and will retire from that role on 30 June 2025.
Currie, the bank said, boasts extensive international banking experience, having held roles in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Asia and the Middle East.
He was previously at ANZ’s Group Chief Operating Officer, as well as holding other senior roles at the bank. Previously, Currie held various international roles at HSBC.
CBA Chair Paul O’Malley said he was “delighted to announce Alistair Currie’s appointment and to welcome his extensive banking expertise in his role as a Non-Executive Director of CBA.”
◼️ The Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) has elected Christian Westerlind Wigstrom and Simone Joyce as Alternate Directors.
Westerlind Wigstrom is currently CEO and co-founder of paytech Monoova.
Joyce is founder and CEO of paytech and PayTo specialist Paypa Plane.
The pair were elected by AusPayNet members, from the payment-services provider (PSP) sector, to represent their interests on the AusPayNet board.
Commenting on his appointment, Westerlind Wigstrom said he was “honoured to join the AusPayNet board at such a pivotal time for Australia’s payments industry.”
“I look forward to collaborating with industry leaders to drive innovative payment solutions that benefit both businesses and consumers.”
Joyce for her part said she was “proud to be the nominated” to the role representing the PSP member group.
“At a time of significant changes to the payments industry in Australia, it is important that all stakeholders contribute to the conversation and guidance, so, I am very pleased that the… AusPayNet board, management and members ensured that board representation of PSPs is possible.”
AusPayNet is the industry association and self-regulatory body for Australia’s payments sector.