Leadership Change At St. George

Rob Chapman chief executive of BankSA has been appointed by Westpac as a replacement for outgoing St. George chief executive Greg Bartlett.

Westpac which acquired St. George in 2008 for $15 billion announced on Friday that Mr. Bartlett would be retiring from his position as chief executive of St. George on December 1st, after nearly 30 years with the lender.

Mr. Chapman, who has run BankSA, which is one of the largest regional lenders in South Australia for over 8 years, has also served on the executive committee for the same period of time.

Mr. Chapman has also worked as an executive at CBA, Colonial First State Bank, and Prudential.

“We are very fortunate to have an executive of Rob’s calibre ready to step into the role as St George’s CEO,” said Westpac CEO Gail Kelly.

“His deep multi-brand expertise at St George and BankSA, combined with exceptional banking and commercial acumen, make Rob an ideal appointment.”

Mrs. Kelly, who herself previously ran St. George before the lender was acquired by Westpac described Mr. Bartlett as an “excellent banker”. Mrs. Kelly lauded Mr. Bartlett’s role in the integration of the two lenders after a merger which created Australia’s second largest banking group by market capitalisation.

“The Westpac-St George merger has exceeded our already high expectations, and this is in no small part due to Greg’s efforts,” she said.

“Under his leadership St George has continued to build on the distinct brand attributes that make it so successful, and its customer advocacy remains the highest of the five largest banks.

“He will leave St George in great shape.”

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