Executive team
Brian Hartzer
BA, CFA
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
Brian was appointed Managing Director & CEO in February 2015. Brian joined Westpac as Chief Executive, Australian Financial Services in June 2012 encompassing Westpac Retail & Business Banking, St.George Banking Group and BT Financial Group.
Brian is a Director of the Australian Bankers' Association and was formerly the Chairman until December 2015. He is currently Chairman of The Australian National University Business and Industry Advisory Board. Prior to joining Westpac, Brian spent three years in the UK as CEO for Retail, Wealth and Ulster Bank at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Prior to that, he spent ten years with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) in Australia in a variety of roles, including his final role as CEO, Australia and Global Segment Lead for Retail and Wealth. Before joining ANZ, Brian spent ten years as a financial services consultant in New York, San Francisco, and Melbourne.
Brian graduated from Princeton University with a degree in European History and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Lyn Cobley
BEc, SF FIN, GAICD
Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank
Lyn was appointed Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank in September 2015. She has responsibility for Westpac's global relationships with corporate, institutional and government clients as well as all products across financial and capital markets, transactional banking, structured finance and working capital payments. In addition, Lyn oversees Hastings Funds Management as well as Westpac's International and Pacific Island businesses.
Lyn has over 25 years' experience in financial services. Prior to joining Westpac, Lyn held a variety of senior positions at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) including serving as Group Treasurer from 2007 to 2013 and most recently as Executive General Manager, Retail Products & Third Party Banking. She was also Head of Financial Institutions at Barclays Capital in Australia, held senior roles at Citibank in Australia and Asia Pacific including Head of Securitisation and was CEO of Trading Room (a joint venture between Macquarie Bank and Fairfax).
Lyn is a board member of the Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA), the Banking & Finance Oath and the Westpac Foundation. She is Chairman of Westpac’s Asia Advisory Board and also a member of Chief Executive Women.
Lyn has a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University, is a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Brad Cooper
DipBM, MBA.
Chief Executive Officer, BT Financial Group
Brad was appointed Chief Executive Officer, BT Financial Group in February 2010. Brad initially joined Westpac in April 2007 as Chief Executive, Westpac New Zealand Limited and after successfully leading a change program in that market, moved to the role of Group Chief Transformation Officer leading the Westpac Group's St.George merger implementation.
Prior to joining Westpac, Brad was Chairman of GE Capital Bank and CEO of GE Consumer Finance UK & Ireland. He drove GE's UK Six Sigma program and was certified as a Quality Leader (Black Belt) in December 2002. He was promoted to CEO of GE Consumer Finance UK in January 2003 and appointed Chairman of GE Capital Bank in April 2004.
Dave Curran
BCom
Chief Information Officer
Dave was appointed Group Chief Information Officer in September 2014. Dave has almost 30 years of experience with proven expertise in IT and financial services and the implementation of large, complex projects.
Since 2015, Dave has been on the Board of the Westpac Bicentennial Foundation, a $100 million scholarship fund with exclusive focus on Australian education and leadership.
Before joining Westpac, Dave spent 10 years in senior roles at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). Before joining CBA, he spent 16 years at Accenture, where he was a Partner, primarily consulting on financial services.
George Frazis
B Eng (Hons), MBA (AGSM / Wharton).
Chief Executive, Consumer Bank
George was appointed Chief Executive, Consumer Bank in June 2015, responsible for managing the end to end relationship with consumer customers. This includes all consumer distribution, digital, marketing, transformation and banking products and services under the Westpac, St.George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands.
Prior to this appointment, he was CEO, St.George Banking Group. George joined the Westpac Group in March 2009 as Chief Executive, Westpac New Zealand Limited. George is highly experienced in the financial services industry. He was formerly Group Executive General Manager at National Australia Bank. Prior to that, George was a senior executive in Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Institutional Banking Division and has also been a partner with the Boston Consulting Group and an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.
George is Governor of the St. George Foundation and Chairs the Prime Minister’s Industry Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment.
Peter King
BEc, FCA.
Acting Chief Risk Officer
Peter was appointed Acting Chief Risk Officer in June 2018. As Westpac Group's Acting Chief Risk Officer, Peter is responsible for key risk management activities across the enterprise.
Prior to this appointment Peter was the Chief Financial Officer for four years and the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for three years. Since joining Westpac in 1994, Peter has held other senior finance positions across the Group, including in Group Finance, Business and Consumer Banking, Business and Technology Services, Treasury and Financial Markets.
Peter commenced his career at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. He has a Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University and completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
David Lees
B Com, LLB
Acting Chief Financial Officer
David was appointed Acting Chief Financial Officer in June 2018 with responsibility for Westpac's Finance, Group Audit, Tax, Treasury and Investor Relations functions.
Prior to this appointment David was Deputy Chief Financial Officer for two years and has previously held other directorships and senior roles across Westpac Group, including General Manager, BT Solutions, where he was responsible for BT Financial Group’s insurance and asset management businesses.
David holds a Bachelor of Commerce/ Bachelor of Laws from Durban University.
Rebecca Lim
B Econ, LLB (Hons)
Group Executive, Compliance, Legal & Secretariat
Rebecca was appointed as Westpac's Group Executive responsible for compliance, legal and secretariat functions globally from October 2016. She was appointed Group General Counsel in November 2011 and was Chief Compliance Officer from 2013 to 2017.
Rebecca joined Westpac in 2002 and has held a variety of other senior leadership roles including General Manager, Human Resources for St.George Bank and General Manager, St.George Private Clients.
Rebecca began her career at Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst) before joining the US firm Skadden Arps where she worked in both New York and London. Rebecca then moved into an in-house role in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in London before returning to Australia and joining Westpac.
Rebecca is Deputy Chair of the GC100 Executive Committee and a member of Chief Executive Women.
David Lindberg
HBA (Hons Economics)
Chief Executive, Business Bank
David was appointed Chief Executive, Business Bank in June 2015. He manages the Group’s end to end relationships with business customers for the Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne brands. The Business Bank provides a wide range of banking and financial products and services to Australia’s small, commercial, corporate and agri businesses.
Prior to this appointment, David was Chief Product Officer for the Group's retail and business products across all brands, as well as overseeing the Group's digital activities. Before joining Westpac in 2012, David was Executive General Manager, Cards, Payments & Retail Strategy at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. David was also formerly Managing Director, Strategy, Marketing & Customer Segmentation at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited and Managing Vice President and Head of Australia for First Manhattan.
Carolyn McCann
BBus (Com), BA, GradDipAppFin, GAICD
Group Executive, Customer & Corporate Relations
Carolyn was appointed as Westpac’s Group Executive responsible for customer and corporate relations in May 2018. This division brings together management of the Group’s customer resolution and reporting, alongside our corporate affairs, communications and sustainability functions, recognising the importance of setting high service standards and quickly resolving customer issues in managing the Group’s relationship with its customers.
Carolyn joined Westpac Group in 2013, as General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, during which time she played an instrumental role in leading the Group’s bicentenary program, including the launch of the $100 million Westpac Bicentennial Foundation.
Prior to joining Westpac, Carolyn spent 13 years at Insurance Australia Group in various positions, including Group General Manager, Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations. Carolyn began her career in consulting and has extensive in-house and consulting experience in financial services.
David McLean
LLB (Hons.)
Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand Limited
David was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Westpac New Zealand Limited in February 2015. Since joining Westpac in February 1999, David has held a number of senior roles including Head of Debt Capital Markets New Zealand, General Manager, Private, Wealth and Insurance New Zealand and Head of Westpac Institutional Bank New Zealand, and most recently, Managing Director of the Westpac New York branch.
Before joining Westpac, David was Director, Capital Markets at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell since 1994. He also established the New Zealand branch of Deutsche Bank and was New Zealand Resident Branch Manager. In 1988, David joined Southpac/National Bank as a Capital Markets Executive. Prior to this, David worked as a lawyer in private practice and also served as in-house counsel for NatWest NZ from 1985. David is a Barrister & Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.
Christine Parker
BGDipBus (HRM)
Group Executive, Human Resources
Christine was appointed to Westpac Group’s Executive Team in October 2011. As Group Executive, Human Resources, Christine leads the HR function for the Group, responsible for strengthening our service oriented and inclusive culture, attracting and retaining the best talent, developing and helping our workforce to grow skills for the future, rewarding and recognising our people and ensuring the health and wellbeing of our people. Christine also oversees the Group’s Customer Advocate function, corporate communications, and supports the CEO and Board on culture and conduct.
Since joining Westpac in 2007, Christine has held a variety of senior leadership roles including Group General Manager, Human Resources and General Manager, Human Resources for Westpac New Zealand Limited.
Before joining Westpac, Christine held senior HR roles in a number of high profile organisations and across a range of industries, including Carter Holt Harvey and Restaurant Brands New Zealand.
Christine was previously a Director of Women’s Community Shelters and is a current member of the Chief Executive Women, Governor of the St.George Foundation and member of the Veterans’ Employment Industry Advisory Committee.
Gary Thursby
BEc, DipAcc, FCA
Group Executive, Strategy & Enterprise Services
Gary was appointed Group Executive Strategy & Enterprise Services in October 2016. In addition to leading the Group’s strategy function, his role is designed to accelerate the delivery of the Group's Service Revolution and provide services to support the Group’s operating businesses.
Gary's responsibilities also include banking operations, procurement, property, analytics, and enterprise investments. In addition, Gary oversees the Group's mergers & acquisitions and business development portfolios.
Before joining Westpac in 2008, Gary held a number of senior finance roles at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) including Deputy CFO and CFO Retail Bank. Gary has over 20 years' experience in financial services, covering finance, M&A and large scale program delivery. He commenced his career at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
Gary has a Bachelor of Economics and a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting from Flinders University of South Australia and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.