NEW ZEALAND BUSINESS NEWS
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Heartland Group Holdings, the NZX- and ASX-listed lender that owns Heartland Bank, has confirmed who would run the bank it plans to form by merging Heartland Bank with TSB Bank. The company says the proposed combined business would be called TSB Heartland Bank Limited and would be a New Zealand bank with a strong regional focus.
The endorsements are conditional. Heartland Group still needs to complete its proposal to acquire all TSB shares on issue from Toi Foundation, then merge the two banks. The appointments also require the Reserve Bank of New Zealand not to object, and all other remaining conditions of the deal must be satisfied.
Until the transaction completes, Heartland Group, Heartland Bank and TSB will continue operating as usual under their current leadership.
The future leadership team is intended to report to Leanne Lazarus, the chief executive officer designate of TSB Heartland Bank. The Establishment Panel endorsed the team, which mixes executives from Heartland Bank and TSB.
From Heartland Bank come Kerry Conway as chief financial officer designate, Andy Wood as chief risk officer designate, Rebecca Thomas as chief technology, digital and data officer designate, Lana West as chief people and culture officer designate, and Peter Griffin as chief customer officer for specialist customers.
From TSB come Larissa Vaughan as chief legal officer designate, Penny Burgess as chief customer officer for retail customers, Nick Herbert as chief product and proposition officer, and Molly Auva’a-O’Brien as chief operating officer. Each currently holds a senior role at their own bank, which the release names alongside each appointment.
Lazarus said the mix of executives from both banks was deliberate. “This endorsement of an integrated leadership team reflects the bank we’re building together. The endorsed leadership team is well placed to progress TSB Heartland Bank’s future as a proud New Zealand bank with a strong regional focus,” she said.
The structure places most financial, risk, technology and people functions in the hands of Heartland Bank executives, while TSB supplies legal, product, operations and retail customer roles. The banks split the two customer-facing roles, with Griffin taking specialist customers and Burgess taking retail customers.
Heartland Group also intends to create a new group chief legal officer position once the transaction completes. Phoebe Gibbons, currently chief legal officer at Heartland Bank, would move into it.
Group chief executive officer Andrew Dixson said: “I’m pleased to recognise Phoebe’s significant contribution to the Heartland group. Phoebe brings to this role the experience, judgement and leadership required to support the business in its next phase.”
The creation of a group-level legal role sits above the bank-level legal position Vaughan would hold, separating legal leadership for the listed group from legal leadership inside the merged bank.
For business customers of either bank, nothing changes yet. The two lenders will continue to operate separately under their existing leadership until the transaction completes, and Heartland Group says it will confirm integration planning, including transition arrangements, as the merger moves toward completion.
For the merged bank, the announcement means the senior ranks are largely settled in advance. That reduces the risk of a leadership vacuum if the deal completes, and it tells customers, staff, and regulators who will be accountable for risk, technology, lending, and customer service from day one.
The remaining hurdle is regulatory. The Reserve Bank must signal it does not object, and the other conditions of the transaction must be met, before any of the appointments take effect.
Source: NZX announcements
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