BNZ Leadership Team
Meet the BNZ leadership team
Andrew Thorburn
Managing Director and CEO
A 'career Banker' with over twenty years' experience, Andrew joined BNZ as Managing Director and CEO in October 2008.
A banking industry New Zealand trusts and is proud of is core to this country's success. This is one of the drivers of Andrew Thorburn's leadership of Bank of New Zealand where he has been CEO & MD since October 2008.
Andrew is committed to ensuring BNZ manages the basics of banking well and safe guarding the future of the bank for its customers. He is proud that BNZ was focused on and able to keep lending to New Zealand's businesses throughout the recent recession, demonstrating the bank's understanding of the important role business plays in the well being of our communities and families.
Andrew is a career banker and spent time with MARAC and ASB before moving on to senior roles at Commonwealth Bank of Australia and St George. He joined NAB in January 2005, and took up the leadership of BNZ in October 2008. A member of the BNZ Board and the NAB Group Executive, his role was expanded in March 2009 to include responsibility for Great Western Bank located in South Dakota, USA.
A Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) graduate from Auckland University, Andrew also holds an MBA from the University of Durham in the UK.
Andrew has huge admiration for each of his 5,000+ strong team of people. He regularly works alongside them and his focuses for success centre around: leadership; building an adaptive culture; customer focus and innovation.
A believer in maintaining a good work-life balance, family comes first in Andrew's life and when he has the time he indulges his love of all things musical, including some 'garage' drumming.
Ken Christie
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
As our Chief Financial Officer, Ken has responsibility for the collation, analysis and reporting of BNZ finances, including all aspects of tax, treasury and financial governance. He joined BNZ in June 2007 and leads a team of outstanding professionals.
Prior to this role, Ken was Chief Risk Officer for nabCapital, managing a team of risk professionals involved in the delivery of Operational Risk, Regulatory Compliance and Credit Risk in Australia, New Zealand, UK and the USA. He has held a number of positions with NAB in Group and Australian Treasury and Risk Management. His career has been international having worked in banking, finance and consulting roles at a number of global financial institutions in Europe, Asia, USA and Australia.
Ken is passionate about his role with the Bank, he also manages to compete in motor racing events, with Targa NZ as his favourite event.
He has a degree in Banking and Finance from Victoria University in Melbourne, an MBA from Melbourne Business School and is a graduate of the Advanced Management programme at Harvard Business School in the USA.
Craig Herbison
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Craig joined BNZ in November 2011 as the Bank's first ever Chief Marketing Officer.
After spending the first part of his career as a barrister and solicitor, Craig moved into Marketing and Advertising in 1995, where he has spent the last 15 years working on both the agency and client sides.
Working in the UK and Australia, as well as New Zealand, Craig has experience across mainstream advertising agencies, specialist web development companies, gathering experience in a range of communications mediums, from PR to sponsorship, customer communications and brand, as well as online and social media.
Since 2003, Craig has worked predominantly in the telecommunications sector. As Director of Marketing for Telecom NZ Retail division, Craig was charged with developing the company's new brand, and launching the new 'spark' identity. He also led the brand transformation for Vodafone NZ and Australia as the company's Regional GM of Brand and Communications. Most recently he was GM, Brand Marketing and Communications for Australian directories company Sensis in Melbourne.
Craig is a born and bred Southlander, and originally from Invercargill.
Renée Roberts
Chief Risk Officer (CRO)
Renée joined BNZ in November 2011 as the Bank's CRO. She is a finance professional with broad banking experience and joined BNZ after a successful 20-year track record with National Australia Bank in Australia and overseas.
Renée brings with her senior expertise in leadership, operational and credit risk management, relationship management, credit risk frameworks, sales leadership, corporate banking, strategic execution and organisational culture.
Most recently, in her role as General Manager Credit Risk Frameworks, Group Credit Risk, Renée led an 80-strong centre of excellence team to deliver a robust credit risk framework for NAB. Prior to this, Renée consolidated her experience in General Manager roles at NAB spanning Collections & Fraud; Personal Banking, Operations, Technology, and Change Management. Renée has also held overseas roles with NAB as Head of Private Financial Services, Regional Audit Manager, Business & Personal Financial Services, Europe; and Area Manager, Retail Financial Services, Northern Bank, Belfast. Additionally, Renée has spent time within NAB in corporate banking and strategic planning roles. Renée is also an accredited executive coach and coaches on a volunteer basis.
Renée looks forward to being part of a team who is committed to making a positive contribution for its people, its customers and New Zealand.
Renée enjoys travel, keeping fit, skiing, good wine, community work and is keenly interested in mentoring young women in business. She and her husband have relocated to New Zealand.
Paul Suma
GM Office of the CEO
Paul joined the Leadership Team in September 2011. As GM Office of the CEO, Paul manages the CEO's office and also heads the Bank's Strategy function.
Paul has extensive banking experience, spanning more than 22 years in wealth management, Private and Investment banking, having worked for a variety of financial organisations, including NAB, Westpac, AMP and HSBC.
His most recently held position was Head of Private Clients (NSW and ACT) for NAB Private Wealth.
Prior to joining NAB in 2007 he was State Manager Westpac Private Banking and has held other senior roles. In addition, Paul has had experience owning and operating his own financial services business.
He is a Certified Financial Planner and holds a Diploma of Financial Planning.
Paul looks forward to being part of a business that is clearly innovative, agile and achieving. In turn, he hopes to bring to BNZ a high level of energy, honesty and fairness.
Paul has relocated from Sydney and appreciates contemporary art and enjoys cycling.
Anthony Healy
Director, BNZ Partners
BNZ has been delivering great professional banking services in New Zealand for nearly 150 years.
Anthony joined BNZ in November 2009 to lead BNZ Partners. As a career banker, he was excited with the challenge of leading the development of a new model in Business banking, combining Business, Agribusiness and Private banking in a new relationship model. Anthony's reponsibilities include BNZ's corporate and property banking teams.
Anthony brings considerable breadth and depth of experience across banking and financial services, having held a number of senior executive and director-level roles in an 18-year career that has spanned New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.
Anthony has spent the last 18 years with the ANZ Group, most recently as CEO of UDC Finance and prior to that as Deputy Group Managing Director of AmBank Group, Malaysia's fourth-largest banking group. He was also a Director of AmBank's Investment bank, Commercial bank, Insurance company and Funds Management business.
He firmly believes that we need a thriving business sector to create the sort of New Zealand that kiwis want. This passion permeates the Partners business he leads and could be seen in BNZ's decision to keep lending to businesses as the Global Financial Crisis unfolded throughout 2009. BNZ stood by businesses when they needed the support of their bank. As a result more people kept their jobs, maintained their lifestyle, and kept their family lives intact.
An Australian, Anthony delights in the Kiwi lifestyle.
Louise Harvey-Wills
Director, People
Louise joined BNZ as General Manager – People & Culture (now Director, People) in mid June 2009. Together with the business leads, she proudly leads the strategic direction for BNZ's People business unit, spanning culture, employee engagement, capability development, succession, talent pipeline and performance and rewards.
Louise's career in human resources and management consulting has taken her on a journey through New Zealand, Asia, Channel Islands (British Isles) and Botswana. Louise brings with her a wealth of experience together with excellent strategic capability, strong commercial focus, passion for connecting with people and ability to help organisations evolve.
Over the last seven years, Louise has held a number of roles at Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited. The most recent was GM Human Resources – Ingredients and Global Trade which included full HR responsibility for Europe, Latin America, Central America, Japan, Korea, Singapore and NZ Ingredient and GlobalTrade operations.
Prior to her time at Fonterra, Louise was a consultant for Transend Worldwide Limited in Botswana and the Channel Islands, and worked across a number of entities including Express Logistics, Datamail and New Zealand Post.
Louise has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction in Business Management (endorsed in HR).
Louise is a Mainlander, originally from Southland. She is now based in Wellington with her family, loves spending time with them in the outdoors and is a classic car enthusiast.
Shelley Ruha
Director, Products & Operations
Shelley Ruha joined the leadership team in November of 2011 after 22 years with BNZ. She is now Director – Products and Operations, where she is responsible for a team of 700 and manages a portfolio which includes product, operations, technology and business security and performance.
Starting out in the graduate programme at the Dominion Road branch in 1990, she has amassed a huge amount of leadership experience in roles ranging from compliance and risk, administration and client servicing, credit analysis, relationship management and new business development.
Shelley's previous role was as the Head of Institutional Banking in Partners, responsible for providing financial services to large corporates, financial institutions and government entities. She successfully held this role since December 2009, leading a team of 70 staff across three locations.
During this time, Shelley spearheaded the successful campaign to win the INFINZ Bank of the Year in May 2011. Her team made significant advances in customer satisfaction, market share and league tables.
Shelley says she is dedicated to the bank's success, which is built on consistently striving to deliver the best possible banking experience for its customers. Shelley invests time in the community as BNZ representative on the not-for-profit group Committee for Auckland.
Andy Symons
Director, Retail
Andy re-joined BNZ in August 2010 to take up the position of Director, Retail. In this role, he is responsible for leading the Bank's Retail business, including our Store network, Contact and Sales Centres, and BNZ Insurances.
Most recently, Andy Symons has come from Loyalty New Zealand (Fly Buys) where he held the role of CEO from January 2008 to July 2010. Prior to this, he held a number of leadership roles within Retail Banking at BNZ, including Head of Operations, Head of Central Region and Head of Retail Sales Development.
His business experience spans a broad range of industries, including banking, telecommunications, software development, sales and consulting. As a founding shareholder of a rapidly growing software company he gained international business experience across markets in Asia, North America, Australia and Africa consulting on, and promoting the use of, expert decisioning software in marketing and credit management.
Andy is committed to developing high performing teams and world class retailing. He is especially passionate about creating a successful community for kids to be part of as they grow up and thinks it's fantastic to see BNZ providing such great support for essential elements of life in New Zealand communities.
Originally from rural Taranaki, Andy and his young family spend any time they can cycling, golfing, skiing or swimming - anything that gets us out in the great out doors!
