People and leadership
It is appropriate in my first report to recognise the substantial contribution that Leon Davis made to the Westpac Group in his more than six years as Chairman and seven years on the Board.
Leon made an invaluable contribution to Westpac – not only through his strong leadership of the Board but also the very high standards he personally set for corporate governance and responsibility. He was instrumental in establishing the Board Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Committee and was widely recognised as an inspirational leader in creating value through sustainable business practices that are sensitive to our stakeholders’ interests. During his time as Chairman, Westpac was consistently assessed as one of the most sustainable companies in the world.
We wish him well in his retirement.
As foreshadowed in last year’s report, Helen Lynch retired from the Board at the AGM in December 2006, after nine years of valued contribution. We also welcomed Elizabeth Bryan as a non-executive director in November 2006. Elizabeth has over 30 years experience in the financial services industry, government policy and administration, and on the boards of companies and statutory organisations.
After five and a half years on the Board, David Crawford will retire at the conclusion of our 2007 AGM. During his tenure he has made an extensive contribution, particularly to the Board Audit Committee, of which he was a member for over five years, four as Chairman. We wish him well in his continuing board endeavours beyond Westpac.
Recently we also announced the appointment of Lindsay Maxsted to the Board, effective 1 March 2008, following his retirement as CEO of KPMG Australia. Lindsay’s extensive corporate, audit, tax and advisory experience will further strengthen the Board.
At last year’s AGM, David Morgan announced that he would not be seeking to renew his contract when it fell due in December 2007. In light of David’s decision, your Board carried out an extensive executive search in Australia and overseas, which culminated in the appointment of Gail Kelly, formerly the Chief Executive Officer of St George Bank, as our next CEO.
Gail is well known for her focus on people and customer services and these attributes align very well culturally with those at Westpac. The Board looks forward to welcoming Gail on 1 February 2008, and David has agreed to remain CEO until that time.
On behalf of everyone, the Board thanks David for an outstanding contribution during his nine years as CEO. In his nearly 18 years with Westpac, David has left a lasting legacy. As CEO he has delivered first class financial results and built a robust and sustainable organisation. With our expansion into wealth management via BT, David has successfully transformed Westpac into a truly integrated financial services company, delivering strong results while being recognised globally for its corporate responsibility and sustainability program.
It is appropriate in my first report to recognise the substantial contribution that Leon Davis made to the Westpac Group in his more than six years as Chairman and seven years on the Board.
Leon made an invaluable contribution to Westpac – not only through his strong leadership of the Board but also the very high standards he personally set for corporate governance and responsibility. He was instrumental in establishing the Board Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Committee and was widely recognised as an inspirational leader in creating value through sustainable business practices that are sensitive to our stakeholders’ interests. During his time as Chairman, Westpac was consistently assessed as one of the most sustainable companies in the world.
We wish him well in his retirement.
As foreshadowed in last year’s report, Helen Lynch retired from the Board at the AGM in December 2006, after nine years of valued contribution. We also welcomed Elizabeth Bryan as a non-executive director in November 2006. Elizabeth has over 30 years experience in the financial services industry, government policy and administration, and on the boards of companies and statutory organisations.
After five and a half years on the Board, David Crawford will retire at the conclusion of our 2007 AGM. During his tenure he has made an extensive contribution, particularly to the Board Audit Committee, of which he was a member for over five years, four as Chairman. We wish him well in his continuing board endeavours beyond Westpac.
Recently we also announced the appointment of Lindsay Maxsted to the Board, effective 1 March 2008, following his retirement as CEO of KPMG Australia. Lindsay’s extensive corporate, audit, tax and advisory experience will further strengthen the Board.
At last year’s AGM, David Morgan announced that he would not be seeking to renew his contract when it fell due in December 2007. In light of David’s decision, your Board carried out an extensive executive search in Australia and overseas, which culminated in the appointment of Gail Kelly, formerly the Chief Executive Officer of St George Bank, as our next CEO.
Gail is well known for her focus on people and customer services and these attributes align very well culturally with those at Westpac. The Board looks forward to welcoming Gail on 1 February 2008, and David has agreed to remain CEO until that time.
On behalf of everyone, the Board thanks David for an outstanding contribution during his nine years as CEO. In his nearly 18 years with Westpac, David has left a lasting legacy. As CEO he has delivered first class financial results and built a robust and sustainable organisation. With our expansion into wealth management via BT, David has successfully transformed Westpac into a truly integrated financial services company, delivering strong results while being recognised globally for its corporate responsibility and sustainability program.