BNZ announces leadership change

BNZ Chairman, Doug McKay, today announced the appointment of Angela Mentis as Managing Director and CEO of BNZ, succeeding Anthony Healy who has been appointed Chief Customer Officer – Business and Private Banking at NAB. Ms Mentis was previously Chief Customer Officer – Business and Private Banking at NAB.

“Angela will be the first female Managing Director and CEO of BNZ. She has been on the BNZ Board since December 2016 and knows BNZ and its strategy well. Angela is well-placed to ensure that BNZ remains focused on delivering for its customers, investors and employees,” said Mr McKay.

Mr McKay also thanked Anthony for the pivotal role he played in driving success at BNZ.

“On behalf of the BNZ Board I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Anthony for his tenure and service at BNZ. He has been an extremely effective, well-respected and successful leader, and we wish him all the best for his new role at NAB.”

According to National Australia Bank Limited (NAB) Group CEO, Andrew Thorburn, these changes will only serve to further strengthen both the BNZ and NAB leadership teams.

“These are outstanding opportunities for two of NAB’s talented executives to broaden their leadership in different environments. Angela and Anthony are superb banking executives who have a clear understanding of what is needed to serve our customers.”

Departing CEO Anthony Healy described his eight years at BNZ as the highlight of his career. He was appointed CEO and Managing Director in August 2014 and prior to that was Director, BNZ Partners.

“BNZ is in a very strong position and is well-placed to accelerate its digital strategy and transformation, which will continue under Angela’s leadership,” said Anthony.

“Being a CEO is a huge privilege – especially of a company like Bank of New Zealand. The way I see it is that you get to be a custodian for a moment in time, and – like all your predecessors – make an impact in some way.

“My time at BNZ has been marked by some defining moments for New Zealanders. The Christchurch, Wellington and Kaikoura earthquakes were devastating and something I hope we don’t have to face again. But it was an exemplar of the BNZ spirit and how we rallied to support each other, our customers and the local communities.

“For me personally, a highlight was our efforts in establishing community finance, which offers low and no interest loans to people who usually don’t meet bank lending criteria. We responded to a call from government to address this difficult issue – and no one was sure where to start. We drew on the experience of NAB and Good Shepherd in Australia in running a similar programme.

“Community finance started with a modest pilot and at that time I went out to Henderson to meet Haidee, one of our first customers. To see how community finance worked for her and made a difference to her family reinforced the need to make this work for other people like her. In 2016, the initiative secured government funding for roll out, and BNZ committed to making an extra $50m in lending available. In August this year, we finished the first phase of expansion with the launch of our 13th location in Hamilton.”

Biographies

Anthony Healy

Anthony has been a member of the NAB Executive Leadership Team since 2014. He became Managing Director and CEO of Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) from 12 May 2014. Before that he led BNZ’s business arm, Business Partners, for more than four years, having joined the bank in November 2009. In an 18-year career in banking, he has held a number of senior executive and director-level roles in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East. Prior to joining BNZ, he worked for ANZ Group, most recently as CEO of UDC Finance and prior to that, Deputy Group Managing Director of AmBank Group in Malaysia.

Anthony was also a Director of AmBank’s investment bank, commercial bank, insurance company and funds management businesses. Anthony has a Graduate Diploma in Finance, a Graduate Diploma in Economics and a Bachelor of Science, double major in economics and psychology, all from the University of Melbourne.

Anthony and his family will be moving to Melbourne for the role.

Angela Mentis

Angela has been a member of the NAB Executive Leadership Team since 2014. She has been leading NAB’s Business Banking division since 2014, and in August 2016 was appointed Chief Customer Officer – Business and Private Banking. She has also held senior roles as Executive General Manager, NAB Business and Executive General Manager, NAB Private Wealth. Since December 2016 Angela has been a director for BNZ.

Beginning her career at Macquarie Bank, Angela has held senior management positions at BT Financial Group, Westpac and Citibank Limited.

Angela holds a Bachelor of Business with a major in finance and economics and a sub-major in business law and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and a member of Chief Executive Women. As Managing Director and CEO of Bank of New Zealand, Angela will be based in Auckland.