Outgoing chief to depart in December after CBA executive takes the reins of NZ's major bank
ASB, a wholly owned subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank, has confirmed a leadership change at the top of the bank. Sinead Taylor (pictured), currently group executive institutional banking and markets at CBA, will take over as CEO and managing director on 12 December, succeeding Vittoria Shortt, who steps down after almost nine years in the role. Shortt will depart on 11 December.
Incoming CEO brings CBA experience
Taylor brings more than 25 years of banking experience to the role, having joined the CBA group in 2008 and held senior positions including chief operations officer and executive general manager of Bankwest, alongside stints in global markets, strategy, corporate banking, and marketing. She has been group executive institutional banking and markets since February 2025, responsible for banking and financial services for large corporate, government and institutional customers across Australia and internationally — a role for which a successor search has now begun.
Before entering banking, she worked in senior strategy and marketing positions in professional services. Taylor holds an MBA with distinction from the Australian Graduate School of Management, is an elected fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and was born in Glasgow before later living in Rotorua from the age of nine.
ASB chair Dame Therese Walsh credited Shortt with steering the bank through a turbulent stretch for the industry.
"As CEO, Vittoria has led ASB through a period of significant change and challenge for all Kiwi, and for the banking industry," Walsh said.
Outgoing CEO reflects on tenure
CBA chief executive Matt Comyn said Taylor's leadership background made her well placed for the role.
"That combination of customer focus, operational discipline and execution makes her well placed to lead ASB through its next phase," Comyn said.
Comyn also paid tribute to Shortt's nine-year tenure, noting she had led ASB's more than 7,000 people through a period of significant change, including investment in technology and digital services for customers.
Shortt said she was proud of how central the bank's purpose had become to day-to-day operations.
"When I look back at what we've achieved, I'm most proud of how deeply our purpose has become part of ASBers' work every day to help improve customers' financial wellbeing, support our communities, and back the New Zealand economy," she said.
She plans to take time off before considering her next professional step, saying she is "looking forward to some travel, starting with a roadie around New Zealand, and spending more time with my family."
Taylor's appointment has received non-objection from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, clearing the final regulatory step before she takes up the role.
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