Two of the big four banks have made board changes with ANZ making a new appointment and Westpac seeing a non-executive depart.
Westpac independent non-executive director Peter Nash has left the board, effective 1 July, following concerns over his long-term relationship with KPMG. The consultancy is currently facing intense scrutiny over leaked confidential information during audit bidding.
In a statement issued on the ASX, Westpac chair Steven Gregg said Nash had been a dedicated advocate for Westpac since joining the board in 2018.
“With recent attention on Peter’s former roles and relationships at KPMG, he has decided now is the right time to retire from the board to limit any ongoing distraction for the company.
“The structure of Westpac’s audit tender process was robust. Peter declared his past connections with KPMG and was not on the selection committee, however he acknowledges the perception of bias that may have been created by his relationships,” Gregg said.
Michael Ullmer will be appointed chair of the board audit committee, David Cohen will be appointed chair of the board risk committee and Tim Burroughs will be appointed to the board nominations & governance committee.
Meanwhile, career banker Rachel Slade will join the ANZ board as a non-executive director, effective from 13 July.
Slade has more than two decades of customer experience across retail, business and transaction banking, having held a range of leadership roles at both National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac.
She left NAB in July 2025 after serving as group executive, business and private banking, a role she was appointed to in 2024 with responsibility for NAB’s SME, specialised banking, private banking and advisory businesses.
Since joining NAB in 2017, she also held senior roles including group executive personal banking, chief customer experience officer and executive general manager deposits and transaction services.
Previously she spent 17 years at Westpac in senior roles across global transactional services, retail and business banking.
Commenting on the appointment, ANZ chairman Paul O’Sullivan said: “Rachel’s deep and contemporary experience across retail, business and transaction banking, combined with her track record of customer-led strategy and large-scale transformation, will bring valuable operational and customer insight to the Boards.
“Her understanding of complex banking environments and focus on high quality customer outcomes position her well to support the execution of ANZ’s 2030 strategy and our continued growth.”
