Executive team
Brian Hartzer
BA
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 Member of the Australian Banking Association and 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 became a Chartered Financial Analyst in 1997.
Craig Bright
B.Comp
Chief Information Officer
Craig was appointed Group Chief Information Officer in December 2018. Craig has more than 30 years’ experience in technology and financial services. He has held divisional CIO roles in retail banking, business banking and investment banking and led complex global scale technology operations.
Prior to joining Westpac Group, Craig was Chief Technology Officer, Global Consumer Bank at Citigroup. He led a division of technology employees executing a cloud and mobile first strategy supporting digital channels and a mix of Citi Smart Banking formats worldwide. Craig has also held senior roles at Barclays in London, National Australia Bank and Ernst & Young.
Craig has a Bachelor of Computing from Monash University and a Computer Field Service Certificate from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Lyn Cobley
BEc, SF FIN, GAICD
Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank
As Chief Executive of Westpac Institutional Bank, Lyn 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 Westpac's International and Pacific Island businesses. Lyn was appointed to the role in September 2015.
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 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.
Peter King
BEc, FCA.
Chief Financial Officer
Peter was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2014 with responsibility for Westpac's Finance, Group Audit, Tax, Treasury and Investor Relations functions.
Prior to this appointment Peter was the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for three years and 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.
Rebecca Lim
B Econ, LLB (Hons)
Group Executive, Legal & Secretariat
Rebecca was appointed as a Westpac Group Executive in 2016 and is responsible for legal and secretariat functions globally. 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, Consumer
David was appointed Chief Executive, Consumer in April 2019, responsible for the end to end relationships with consumer customers. This includes all consumer distribution, digital, marketing, banking and insurance products and services under the Westpac, St.George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne, BT, and RAMS brands. Prior to this appointment, David was Chief Executive, Business Bank from June 2015 managing relationships with business customers for the Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne brands.
Before this David was Chief Product Officer for the Group's retail and business products, 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 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 the 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 from 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.
David Stephen
BBus
Chief Risk Officer
David was appointed Chief Risk Officer in October 2018, with responsibility for risk management and compliance activities across the Group.
Prior to this, David was the Chief Risk Officer for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) from 2013, having first joined RBS in 2010 as the Deputy Chief Risk Officer. David has also previously held other senior roles at both retail and investment banks in the UK, USA, Hong Kong and Australia, including serving as Chief Risk Officer at ANZ and Chief Credit Officer at Credit Suisse Financial Products.
David has a Bachelor of Business in Banking and Finance from Monash University and is a Board member of both the International Financial Risk Institute and the Financial Services Institute of Australia (FINSIA).
Gary Thursby
BEc, DipAcc, FCA
Chief Operating Officer
Gary was appointed Chief Operating Officer in April 2019, having previously been in the role of Group Executive, Strategy & Enterprise Services since 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, advice and advice remediation, procurement, property, analytics, and enterprise investments. In addition, Gary oversees the Group's corporate 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.
Alastair Welsh
MBA, BCA, FCA
Acting Chief Executive, Business
Alastair was appointed Acting Chief Executive, Business in April 2019. He manages the Group’s end to end relationships with business customers for Westpac, St.George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne. The Business division holds relationships with Australia’s Small, Commercial, Corporate and Agri businesses, providing wide range banking services and support. Through our brands, the division also supports customers’ wealth needs including Private Wealth, Superannuation and BT Platforms, Investments and Operations.
Alastair holds more than 30 years’ experience in banking in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Since joining Westpac NZ in 1992, he has held a variety of roles from relationship management through to leadership positions for small business banking, BT Financial Group, Group Customer Transformation and Westpac Commercial banking. Prior to this appointment, Alastair was General Manager for the Westpac Commercial Business Bank.