On his first day as the Westpac Group CEO, Brian Hartzer today confirmed his Executive team and their responsibilities, and detailed some of his immediate priorities for the Group.
There are no changes to the individuals within the Executive team. However, some responsibilities and reporting lines have changed. These include:
- As a division, Australian Financial Services (AFS) will no longer exist, with the CEOs of Westpac Retail & Business Banking, St.George Banking Group and BT Financial Group will now report directly to Mr Hartzer.
- The Technology function will now report directly to the Group CEO (previously reported to the Chief Operating Officer
- All retail product development, marketing and analytics functions previously within AFS, along with Group-wide operations, will now be the responsibility of the Chief Operating Officer
- David McLean has been appointed as the CEO of Westpac New Zealand. Mr McLean has been acting CEO of Westpac New Zealand since August 2014
Mr Hartzer also today outlined his key priorities for the Group.
“We have a clear customer-centric strategy, which has consistently delivered. We are building good momentum and have a number of growth opportunities that over time will help us to continue to increase the value of our franchise. These include digitally transforming our business, increasing our investment in wealth, business banking and Asia, and working more closely with innovation industries and disruptive technologies that are transforming our economy. At the same time, we will continue to improve productivity, and make sure that our risk and business practices continue to set the standard for sustainability, in line with changing regulatory and community expectations. Above all we will continue to invest in our people and the distinctive strength of Westpac’s culture, delivering a service revolution for our customers and strong, consistent, returns for shareholders.”
