CIO appointed for Heritage–People’s Choice merged entity

Andy Weir, who has been acting CIO for People’s Choice for the past six months, has been named as the incoming CIO for the (soon to be) merged organisation.

He will take up his new position on 1 March 2023, when the merged entity is expected to officially launch.

He will be tasked with merging the two banking systems and teams.

The new CIO has experience in large-scale strategic and digital transformations and has previously held executive roles with CommBank and Halifax Bank of Scotland across technology, transformation, change management, integration and retail banking. 

He also led Bankwest’s east coast retail expansion, its integration into the CBA Group, and the bank’s agile operating model transformation.

In his new role, Mr Weir will work alongside the group’s chief executive officer Peter Lock (currently Heritage’s CEO), deputy CEO Steve Laidlaw (currently People’s Choice CEO), chairman Michael Cameron (currently People’s Choice chairman), deputy chairman Kerry Betros (currently Heritage’s chairman).

However,  as previously announced, Mr Lock will retire 18 months after the establishment of the merged organisation, when Mr Laidlaw will be appointed as CEO.

Speaking of the new appointment, Mr Laidlaw said: “Andy is a deeply experienced and collaborative professional, who has already made an outstanding contribution to People’s Choice.

“He’s established himself as an exceptional leader and a strong advocate for our values as a member-owned organisation. 

“Throughout an extensive recruitment process, he stood out as the ideal person to guide us through our next, critical phase — bringing together our two IT systems and teams.”

Mr Weir commented: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining People’s Choice at such an exciting time. 

“The merger with Heritage will create a significant new major national financial services organisation, providing a genuine alternative to the major banks,” Mr Weir said. 

“Technology will be key to the successful delivery of our new organisation’s strategy, as we seek to create leading digital experiences for our members. 

“While there’s a significant amount of work to do to bring our technology together, we’re not simply going to merge existing systems, we’ll also create new and improved technology platforms for the benefit of our members. It’s a fantastic challenge,” he added.

Group to move to new name and branding in 2024

The new organisation will continue to operate under the existing brands of Heritage Bank and People’s Choice for an interim period during the initial integration process but will adopt a new name and brand in 2024 (the name of which is yet to be confirmed).

Last month, members voted in favour of the merger, with 93.21 per cent in favour.

Together, the merged entity will create Australia’s ninth-largest bank, with 720,000 members, 1,900 employees, $23 billion in assets, and 95 branches across South Australia, Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

The Heritage–People’s Choice merger is one in a string of bank mergers expected to complete next year.

Fellow mutual lenders Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent are also on track to merge from 1 March, after members approved the move to create a combined entity with nearly $21 billion in total assets and approximately 600,000 customers.

Meanwhile, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currently considering ANZ’s proposal to acquire Suncorp Bank, with a decision expected in June 2023.

[Related: Broker channel ‘important part’ of Heritage-PCCU future]