ANZ leadership restructure will see bank appoint digital leader

ANZ plans to appoint a dedicated group executive responsible for digital transformation as part of a leadership restructure.

ANZ CEO, Shane Elliott, announced that the new role of group executive, digital banking will be established among a host of executive-level changes aimed at helping the organisation simplify and improve how it works internationally in the retail and commercial banking spaces. The new structure comes into effect on 1 February.

The digital role is expected to be filled by an external candidate and announced in coming months.

Overall, ANZ’s management reshuffle is about improving its focus on retail, commercial and institutional customers and businesses as a regional and global play.

Mark Whelan has been appointed group executive of Institutional business, from his former role of CEO of ANZ Australia, while Fred Ohlsson, former ANZ New Zealand MD of retail and business banking, now has overarching group executive for retail and commercial banking.

Joyce Phillips, former CEO of ANZ Wealth, has had a simplification of title and been appointed group executive of wealth, marketing and innovation with responsibility for ANZ’s insurance, investments and private banking businesses, as well as group marketing and innovation. There is no change to her role.

ANZ Bank New Zealand CEO, David Hisco, becomes a group executive while retaining his CEO duties in New Zealand, and gains responsibility for the Pacific.

“The new structure brings greater clarity to what we do best for our customers with a leadership team that reflects a diverse mix of experience and new talent from outside ANZ,” Elliott said.

“These changes simplify how we work internally and allow us to bring greater focus to what we do uniquely well for our customers. The aim is to ensure we successfully compete in a world where connectivity and digital are more important to customers than ever before and where community expectations have never been higher.”

Adding a digital leadership capability around the retail and commercial businesses is also about recognising the future of those is in digital, Elliott said.

ANZ also confirmed deputy CEO of institutional and international banking, Gilles Plante, will leave the organisation after 19 years with the group.

Alongside the restructure, Elliott emphasised several medium-term priorities for ANZ, many of which emphasise customer service improvements. Among these are delivering value for customers through more innovative, convenient and engagement in financial services.

The institution also hopes to become a more regionally focused bank by delivering customer services through a better and more connected international network. To this end, it has appointed Farhan Faruqui as group executive for international, with responsibility for ANZ’s institutional business in Asia, Europe and America. He also joins ANZ’s executive committee.

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