Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn revamps senior ranks with fresh appointments

Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn has revamped his executive leadership team with fresh appointments atop the country’s biggest lender.

With two CBA senior executives retiring in February 2025, Mr Comyn on Wednesday said the bank had taken the opportunity to make changes to the team. He said this was part of the “long term, consistent execution of our strategy”.

Group chief risk officer Nigel Williams, who has been with CBA for six years, will retire next February. He will be replaced by the group’s current institutional banking and markets boss Andrew Hinchliff.

Former Bankwest executive general manager Sinead Taylor will take over the institutional banking and markets division.

The bank has also appointed Kiersten Robinson as chief people officer to replace Sian Lewis, who will retire early next year. Emma Bunnell will succeed Ms Taylor as chief operations officer.

“These appointments will deliver a strong mix of banking, risk management, operational and customer focus for the future,” Mr Comyn said.

The new appointments will be effective from February 17, 2024.

Mr Comyn thanked Mr Williams and Ms Lewis for their service, saying he was “extremely grateful for the significant contribution they have made to CBA during their respective tenures and for the support and guidance they have provided to me personally”.

“Nigel joined CBA at a very difficult time for the organisation and his experience and judgement was invaluable to me and the board,” he said.

“I have worked with Sian for more than 10 years and have appreciated her counsel and support as we have shaped our workforce for the future.”

CBA noted Mr Williams and Ms Lewis played fundamental roles following the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority review in 2018, which found the bank breached money-laundering laws.

“I am also delighted that we will continue to benefit from Andrew and Sinead’s deep understanding and experience of CBA, while Kiersten and Emma will bring relevant and diverse global experience,” Mr Comyn said on Wednesday.