Announcement follows arrival of new CEO
Westpac New Zealand (Westpac NZ) has expanded its leadership team ahead of Christmas, appointing Tania O’Brien as its new chief financial officer (CFO) and Martin Gaskell as its new chief transformation officer (CTO).
Currently based in Singapore, O’Brien has a track record of leading culturally diverse teams in Asia-Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand. She will join Westpac NZ after a successful career with ANZ, where she held several senior executive finance roles.
Gaskell, a qualified accountant, started his career with the Ford Retail Group in the UK before moving to New Zealand and BNZ in 2007, where he served as the chief operating officer (COO) for BNZ Partners and then director of customer fulfilment services. He left BNZ in 2018 and set up a consultancy.
Beginning March 07, O’Brien will take over from Kerry Conway, who has been the acting CFO at Westpac NZ. Meanwhile, starting February 08, Gaskell will take over from acting CTO Su Duffey.
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Both appointments are subject to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) having no objections and other regulatory approvals.
The announcement follows the appointment of Catherine McGrath, who has deep experience in local and UK markets and in leading large teams, as the new chief executive of Westpac NZ beginning in November 2021.
Commenting on the latest appointments, McGrath said O’Brien and Gaskell will boost the international bank using their valuable expertise.
“These are two extremely important roles that are central to what we do as a bank and where we want to go in the future. I look forward to Tania and Martin applying their deep knowledge of the banking industry to help us deliver great things for our customers,” McGrath said.
She also commended O’Brien’s technical competency, strategic and commercial mindset, and execution capability and noted how Gaskell designed and led the largest operating model change in BNZ’s recent history to deliver strategic and customer outcomes.
