People Moves
ANZ Names Global Wealth Boss Amid “Major Upheaval”

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has announced a
shake-up
within its senior leadership ranks, including the promotion of a
new wealth management chief.
Joyce Phillips starts as chief executive of global wealth and
private
banking, from her previous role at the bank as group managing
director of strategy, mergers
and acquisitions, marketing and innovation. She will retain
responsibility for marketing,
innovation and digital.
ANZ did not confirm who previously oversaw the role.
Phillips is credited with her instrumental role in the
acquisition of the
majority shareholding in ING Australia in 2009. She has held
roles at American
Life Insurance Company and Citigroup, where she was responsible
for Citi’s global
retail banking franchise.
Meanwhile, Shayne
Elliott, currently CEO of institutional, will succeed ANZ
veteran
Peter Marriott as chief financial officer. Elliott will not
officially
start until 31 May, when Marriott leaves. For the next three
months, Elliott
will transition into the job guided by the incumbent. As
previously
reported, Marriott will take a step back from the bank but will
retain a
non-executive role. Elliott will also head strategy from 1
March, part of Phillips' previous
job.
Shane Buggle will be appointed
deputy CFO, reporting to Elliott. Buggle is currently CFO of
institutional, having previously held a number of senior finance
roles at ANZ, including group
general manager finance.
Alex Thursby will take up Elliott's duties in an expanded
role as CEO
global institutional and Asia-Pacific, Europe and America,
focused on ANZ’s
largest multi-national clients globally. Thursby will continue to
have
responsibility for retail and commercial in Asia-Pacific and
partnerships, his
current job.
Elliott, Thursby and Phillips remain members of ANZ’s management
board
reporting to ANZ CEO
Mike Smith.
Meanwhile, corporate banking, Australia,
previously part of institutional, will report to Mark Whelan,
managing director
commercial, who in turn reports to Philip Chronican, CEO
Australia. Most of the changes take place from 1 March.
“These changes support our super
regional aspiration at a time banking globally is undergoing a
major upheaval
as a result of low credit growth, funding challenges and new
regulation. This
creates significant opportunities for ANZ; however, we also need
to manage our
business differently – we need to be leaner and more innovative
in this new and
more difficult environment,” said Smith.
He added that the changes create a simpler structure for the
business that
will allow the bank to be more coordinated between strategy,
finance and
treasury. Marriott’s departure also allows the senior executives
to get broader
experiences in order to strengthen succession planning within the
group, said Smith.
He went on to underline the importance of the wealth business,
which other banks like UBS and Standard Chartered have likewise
highlighted
as a target for growth. “Wealth represents a strategic
opportunity for ANZ and by
establishing it as a global line of business it creates a
distinctive approach
to unlocking further value from our super regional strategy.”
The bank has suffered a couple of senior departures from its
wealth
management business in recent weeks. Vineet Vohra, the
Singapore-based general manager of
wealth management at ANZ, stepped down last
week on the heels of his senior colleague Nina Aguas, the
managing director of
the Asia-Pacific private banking division. Aguas’ replacement is
expected
imminently.
The bank’s leadership changes come amid substantial job cuts, for
which ANZ has suffered heavy criticism. Last week, it announced
it would axe 1,000 permanent roles
this year, the bulk of which will go from its Melbourne-based
middle
management, back office and support divisions. The Finance Sector
Union argued that there was no justification for the redundancies
at a time of record profit for the bank, which is one of
Australia's top four lenders.
ANZ said the cuts were in response to "intense pressure on
margins
associated with higher funding costs,
lower consumer and business demand for financial services and
increasing
global regulation."