In a week full of resignations from female leaders in finance, there’s a small beam of hope on the horizon.
Alexis George has been appointed Deputy CEO of ANZ.
The appointment comes after current ANZ deputy CEO, Graham Hodges announced plans to step down after 27 years with the bank. Alexis will officially move into the position on May 15.
As part of the role, Alexis, who joined ANZ in 2013, will head up ANZ’s group services centres and assist with government, regulatory and employee engagement. This will be in addition to her current role as group Group Executive Wealth Australia.
ANZ’s CEO, Shayne Elliott says he’s confident Alexis will bring a new and valuable perspective to the bank’s leadership.
“Being able to talk to somebody who comes at it from a different angle is incredibly valuable in these kinds of roles,” he said, adding that she is also “broadly-experienced, thoughtful [and has] lots of empathy.”
“[She] brings, frankly, a different perspective and has a different background than I do.”
With over 20 years experience in the finance industry, Alexis has an extensive leadership background. She spent ten years with ING Group in senior roles including CEO for Czech Republic and Slovakia. She is also a chartered accountant, working in that field for ten years before joining the financial services sector.
Elliott said the appointment of Alexis is synonymous with ANZ’s strategy to position the bank as “the best bank for people who want to start, run and grow a small business”.
“When we looked around our [executive team], we didn’t really have a voice for that,” he said. “We want to have that voice back on our table.”
Congratulations Alexis!