The lender announces top-rank management changes including a role covering private banking.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has unveiled two top-level hires, with one moving into a role leading private banking. The changes come amid a number of senior moves in Australia’s banking sector.

The changes at ANZ follow the recently announced decision of ANZ’s deputy chief executive Graham Hodges to retire after 27 years with the lender.

Alexis George has been promoted to deputy CEO in addition to her role as group executive for Wealth Australia. George will continue to lead the divestment of ANZ’s life insurance, superannuation and aligned dealer group businesses. She will also take charge of ANZ’s group service centres and help CEO Shayne Elliott with group-wide initiatives. George joined the bank in 2013 as managing director in the insurance arm, and has been group executive, Wealth Australia, since 2016. Before this, she was CEO Czech Republic and Slovakia at ING; before that she was regional chief operating officer in Asia, accountable for product, marketing, IT and pperations.

The second senior appointment, Mark Hand, has been named group executive, Australian Business & Private Banking. He continues to report to group executive for Australia, Fred Ohlsson.

Hand joined ANZ in 1988 and has held senior roles across business and retail banking, credit management and internal audit in Australia and South Asia. Since 2015 he has been MD for Business & Private Banking.

A number of prominent individuals have come and gone from Australia’s big banks. A raft of senior executives at Commonwealth Bank of Australia left the lender, which appointed CEO Matt Comyn a few months ago, taking over from Ian Narev, who had announced his retirement. Melanie Laing, group executive for human resources, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, group executive, institutional banking and markets, and David Whiteing, group executive, enterprise services and chief information officer, are leaving CBA.