It has been adjusting its senior leadership team's structure
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will soon bid farewell to head of supervision Andy Wood and head of financial system policy and analysis (FSPA) Toby Fiennes following the completion of the second phase of consultation to realign the functions reporting to its executive leadership team members.
The Reserve Bank has been adjusting the structure of its senior leadership team this year to meet future governance expectations under new legislation. As part of the changes, it created new roles to support the new leadership structure. However, Wood and Fiennes decided not to pursue roles in the new structure, so they will leave over the coming months.
Commenting on the departure, RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr said: “Andy and Toby have both achieved a huge amount in their careers at the RBNZ. Toby has overseen first-class policy advice that has driven a significant expansion of our regulatory responsibilities, and Andy has successfully nurtured talent and led the growth to support our more intensive supervision approach.”
Wood will depart before Christmas to spend the summer with his family, with Scott McKinnon covering as the acting head of supervision until the new structure comes into place. Meanwhile, Fiennes will remain the head of FSPA and depart in March when the new structure comes into place.
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The adjustment of the senior leadership’s structure still brings good news despite some departures – with John McDermott, who has been with the RBNZ since 2019, appointed as the new assistant governor and general manager for digital solutions and security.
McDermott brings to the new role his extensive public and private sector experience in digital and cyber security strategy, capability uplift, and operational leadership. He has been acting assistant governor and general manager of business operations since April 2021. In his new role, he will be responsible for developing and overseeing the effective delivery of the central bank’s digital and security functions.
The RBNZ also appointed assistant governor Christian Hawkesby as its new deputy governor, replacing Geoff Bascand, who will leave the Bank early next year after eight years. He will also take over leadership of financial stability functions from early 2022.
The central bank stated that its recruitment for its executive leadership team is progressing well, with more announcements to come on this soon. Recruitment for newly-created senior leadership roles will begin in January 2022.
