Major bank to merge retail and digi business

Maile Carnegie - the group executive, digital and Australia transformation - has been named as the new group executive, Australian retail, reporting to ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott.

Mark Hand, currently the group executive, Australia retail and commercial will leave the bank “late in the year” following the establishment of the new commercial division, which he will help set up.

Speaking of the changes, Mr Elliott said: “We recognised retail banking was changing fast and that we needed to use the world’s best digital technology to deliver a customer proposition centred around the financial wellbeing of our customers while also improving the speed and resilience of our operations. 

“At the time, we established our new digital division outside of our Australian retail business to ensure we weren’t being limited by existing structures and technology. Our intention was to always bring this work together when it made sense and given our first customer proposition, ANZ Plus, is about to go live, that time is now. 

“ANZ Plus, which was built under the ANZx program, is a critical foundation in our digital transformation as we look to improve the services we provide our retail customers in Australia. It is a digital-led retail banking proposition centered on the financial wellbeing of our customers.”

Speaking in an ANZ bluenotes interview, Mr Elliott suggested that the change was needed as the old "infrastructure and the way we were running the business really wasn't a contemporary way" of meeting future customer needs, keeping up with competition, or delivering "what regulators were going to demand of [ANZ]".

He noted that the bank was still working on remediation from the banking royal commission in tandem with building its digital presence.

"We realised... we weren't going to get to where we needed to be. So we took it on ourselves to fundamentally undertake quite a significant rebuild.

"So we said: 'We've got to run the place, we've got to remediate the place, oh and by the way, we're building a whole new business'. So we decided the best way was to split out the build, give it some space..."

New head of retail, Mark Hand to leave

Referring to the new head of retail, Mr Elliott continued: “Maile Carnegie is the right leader to take this business forward. She has brought a different perspective since joining our executive committee in 2016 and made a significant contribution in reshaping our digital offerings, particularly with ANZx. 

”Maile’s recent banking experience, as well as her extensive career running consumer and digital businesses, means she has an exceptional skillset that will ultimately evolve our retail bank,” he said. 

Mr Elliott added that the integration of digital and Australian retail, along with the institutional and New Zealand businesses "performing well", would allow for increased focus on ANZ’s commercial business in Australia. 

“We’ve been banking Australian businesses since our inception more than 180 years ago and it is core to who we are and what we do. Ultimately, improving the visibility, focus and accountability of this division will benefit all our customers who are striving to either start, run or grow their business,” Mr Elliott said.

“Mark Hand has given tremendous service to ANZ over many decades and can be incredibly proud of the contribution he has made, particularly as a key member of the executive committee since 2018. 

“In discussing these changes with Mark, he felt it was the right time to pursue opportunities outside of ANZ and we know he will be successful in whatever he decides to do next. 

“Mark will fortunately still be with us for the next few months as he works with me to establish our new commercial division,” Mr Elliott said.

ANZ’s outgoing group executive, Australia retail and commercial commented: “After a period of significant transformation across ANZ and the banking sector, I see this as the natural time to move onto my next challenge. 

“I’m incredibly proud to have been part of ANZ’s history over the past 30 years, and thankful for the opportunity to work with so many fantastic customers and colleagues.”

[Related: ‘Give us a chance’: ANZ group head of retail asks brokers]