A new CEO has been appointed at the non-major banking group, taking up the role from the outgoing CEO, who will retire in March.
AMP Limited has announced the appointment of Blair Vernon – its current chief financial officer – as its new group CEO, taking over from outgoing CEO Alexis George, who will retire from executive roles from 30 March.
Vernon has more than 30 years’ experience across the financial services sector in New Zealand and Australia and has been AMP Group CFO since July 2023.
He has held a range of senior leadership roles at AMP, including acting CEO of AMP Australia, group executive transformation, and CEO of New Zealand wealth management, where he led major transformation and simplification initiatives.
George – who has led AMP since August 2021 – will hand over the reins to Vernon in March, after which time she will be “available” to the company to assist with handover and ongoing support.
According to the bank, the appointment follows “a thorough internal and external search process conducted by a top-tier executive search firm”.
It noted Vernon’s “extensive experience from previous financial services leadership roles in Australia and New Zealand”, including his previous stint as acting CEO of AMP Australia from August 2020 to January 2021.
At that time, he had been responsible for AMP’s wealth management and banking divisions with a focus on strengthening customer-led outcomes.
AMP said his appointment “ensures a seamless transition and ongoing execution of key strategic initiatives”.
Speaking of the appointment, AMP chair Mike Hirst commented: “After a rigorous search and selection process, the board was unequivocal in its view that Blair brings the right breadth of experience and capability to lead AMP in its next phase of growth as CEO.
“He is keen to deliver strong performance for our stakeholders and has played a key role in improving our position in the financial services industry.
“Blair has built confidence by tightening financial management, steering our capital return program and successfully executing both the AMP Capital separation and the AMP Advice sale and partnership.
“The board congratulates Blair on his appointment and looks forward to working with him and our excellent leadership team to build on the positive momentum within the business.”
Commenting on his promotion, Vernon commented: “It’s a privilege to take on the leadership of AMP, a company with a proud legacy of serving the financial needs of Australians and New Zealanders. AMP is delivering against its strategy, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in executing our strategic ambitions and delivering positive outcomes to customers, shareholders, communities and colleagues.”
‘Not an easy decision to retire from executive roles’: George
Reflecting on the work of his predecessor, Vernon added: “I want to thank Alexis for her incredible contribution to AMP and all its stakeholders, and for her support over so many years. I wish her well for the future and look forward to continuing to work with her during our transition.”
Speaking of the outgoing CEO, chairman Hirst thanked George for her “dedicated service and leadership at AMP”.
“Alexis has guided AMP through a significant transformation that has streamlined the organisation and focused each business on its strongest growth opportunities. She stabilised the business and oversaw the successful sale of AMP Capital and the Advice business while building a customer-focused culture,” he said.
“Alexis has advanced AMP’s transformation and culture and delivered strategic initiatives that will underpin the next phase of growth. In particular, her clear achievement of building a strong executive team will ensure continued momentum in the business and position AMP for future success. I wish Alexis well for the future.”
Commenting on her departure, George said: “AMP has undertaken a significant transformation to become a simpler, customer-focused, and growth-oriented organisation. I am proud of our achievements over the past five years, particularly helping our customers retire with confidence.
“While it was not an easy decision to retire from executive roles, I am confident that AMP is well-positioned for future success. Leading AMP, a company integral to Australia and New Zealand, has been an honour. I wish Blair and AMP continued success and will remain a strong supporter.”
A process will also be undertaken to appoint a new CFO.
A new chapter at AMP
The financial services group said that the leadership change “marks a new chapter for AMP”, building on the strong foundation established under George’s tenure.
The banking arm of the group has recently invested heavily in a technological overhaul.
Indeed, technology is reshaping the broker experience at AMP Bank, with the lender rolling out a new end-to-end home loan application ecosystem designed to dramatically cut turnaround times and lift transparency. Built in partnership with Simpology, the platform brings verification and decisioning much closer to the broker, validating income, ID, and other credit-critical data upfront before submission. Brokers receive real-time updates, instant feedback on application quality, and clear visibility on approval likelihood, reducing back and forth and surprises.
With straight-through processing for simpler PAYG deals and support for more complex scenarios such as self-employed, trusts, and construction, AMP hopes to increase approval times from days to hours, positioning brokers as faster, more confident advisers in front of their clients.
You can find out more about AMP Bank’s new lending origination platform for brokers in The Adviser’s In Focus podcast here:
[Related: AMP CEO defends 10-year IO loan offering]
