The Race Is On For Top Jobs In Banking

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday January 2, 2008

Danny John

TWO of the biggest jobs in retail banking are up for grabs as the industry continues to experience the ramifications of Gail Kelly's appointment as the new chief executive of Westpac.

Both Westpac and Mrs Kelly's former employer, St George, are looking for new heads of their branch network and consumer financial businesses as the big five banks seek to settle down after the most tumultuous period of management upheaval in the sector's recent history.

Mrs Kelly's most urgent task on taking over from David Morgan at Westpac at the end of this month will be to find a replacement for Mike Pratt, who quit as head of its retail bank just before Christmas.

Mr Pratt, 54, a former senior executive of National Australia Bank, had been with Westpac for five years and was an internal contender for the chief executive's post in the group's nine-month search for Dr Morgan's successor.

Mr Pratt, who earned nearly $4.6 million last year, had responsibility for a huge part of Westpac's domestic business before his empire was split in two last February. He kept the consumer arm while the business banking operations went to Peter Hanlon.

His unexpected departure - to seek "new challenges", according to a statement released by Westpac - may tempt the new Westpac boss to reorganise the bank along the lines of a new structure she put in place at St George last April, before her resignation as chief executive in August.

Under the changes, the bank's retail business, including its 400-strong branch network, was merged with its wealth management division under the control of Paul Fegan. Mr Fegan was elevated in November to succeed Mrs Kelly.

The April reorganisation was swiftly followed by the surprise poaching by St George of Michael Cameron, the head of retail banking at Commonwealth, to the role of finance director. His move across Sydney subsequently led to the promotion of Ross McEwan at CBA to lead the country's largest branch network.

In the meantime, Mr Fegan has yet to announce his own successor as he beds down his management team.

A spokesman for St George said yesterday that an internal and external search for a replacement was under way in a process that, along with the Westpac vacancy, will prompt yet another round of change at senior level well into 2008.

For her part, Mrs Kelly has a difficult balance to strike in her first big appointment. While she knows the talent available at her old bank, she will be conscious of the signal she will be sending if she goes outside Westpac for a replacement.

Among the crop of internal candidates who will be hoping for the opportunity to join her team of 10 top executives is Jeremy Dean, the acting head of consumer retail who was in charge of distribution under Mr Pratt.

Mr Dean joined Westpac 14 months ago from NAB, the only bank of the leading five to have avoided the changes wrought by the management merry-go-round of 2007. This accounted for the departures of two chief executives, the arrival of three new ones and the retirements of two chairmen, Leon Davis at Westpac and John Thame at St George.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home