- Heartland Group (HGH) appoints former Westpac Life chief executive Leanne Lazarus as its new banking arm CEO, with Chris Flood to take over as Deputy CEO of the group
- Heartland says it expects Ms Lazarus to contribute to advancing its digitalisation strategy given her executive experience at Westpac and ANZ
- The appointment is effective from August 1 and will see the bank’s current CEO, Chris Flood, transition to Deputy CEO of Heartland Group from November 1
- Chris has been with Heartland for 25 years and in his new role will be responsible for growth across New Zealand and Australia
- Company shares last traded at $2.02 on May 18
Financial services specialist Heartland Group (HGH) has appointed the former CEO of Westpac New Zealand’s insurance arm, Leanne Lazarus, as the CEO of Heartland Bank.
Subject to non-objection from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Ms Lazarus will take the reins at Heartland Bank on August 1.
Further to her role as CEO and Executive Director of Westpac New Zealand’s insurance entity, Westpac Life, Ms Lazarus has also held executive positives at ANZ Bank.
She brings to Heartland 30 years of experience in banking and financial services, and Heartland said it expected this experience in operations and technology to contribute to advancing its digitalisation strategy.
Following Leanne’s appointment, the bank’s current CEO, Chris Flood, will transition to Deputy CEO of Heartland Group from November 1.
Chris has been with Heartland for 25 years, serving as the bank’s CEO since 2019.
In his new role, Mr Flood will be responsible for growth across New Zealand and Australia, applying the bank’s growth model to the group’s Australian entities.
The new Deputy CEO will also lead further strategic initiatives across the group.
He joins CEO of Heartland Group Jeff Greenslade, who is responsible for the group’s activity across both Australia and New Zealand.
Company shares last traded at $2.02 on May 18.