Westpac appoints Steven Gregg as new chairman

Ampol chairman Steven Gregg will step up to Westpac’s top board position in December, relinquishing his positions at Challenger Financial Group and The Lottery Corporation to replace retiring chairman John McFarlane.

McFarlane, who has been chairman of the bank since 2020 and completes his term at the company’s annual general meeting in December, said Gregg was the right leader to take Westpac into its next chapter.

Steven Gregg will remain chairman of Ampol as he takes on the top board position at the country’s oldest bank.Credit: Jessica Hromas

“With a long career in corporate and investment banking across Asia, Europe and the US, combined with his experience chairing ASX100 companies, Steven is a world-class executive and director who will bring a fresh perspective to the board,” McFarlane said.

Under McFarlane, the country’s oldest bank sold its insurance business, largely completed an exit from wealth management and cut the number of international locations following a 2019 anti-money-laundering compliance crisis that sparked a record $1.3 billion fine and led to the exits of its former chairman and chief executive.

Gregg said Westpac was in “a period of transition” and that his priorities as the bank’s chairman would include repositioning for growth, stepping up the work on technology transformation, delivering better service for customers and better value for shareholders.

“It’s been a very difficult and consuming last three years but now is the time to look forward and have a strong ambition,” Gregg said. “My priority will be working closely with fellow directors and the management team to deliver the very best service for our customers and better returns for our shareholders.”

Gregg, who has been chairman of Ampol since 2017, will remain on the petroleum company’s board but has retired as a non-executive director of Challenger Financial Group. On Monday, he announced he would also retire as chairman and non-executive director of The Lottery Corporation in the first quarter of the 2024 calendar year.

After spending more than 20 years in London and New York, Gregg said he had several career highlights that were seminal to his position.

“Running ABN AMRO [bank] in Great Britain was a very important part of my career and very relevant to this role at Westpac,” he said. “After that, coming back to Australia was a great opportunity to change course.”

Gregg was a partner at McKinsey & Company between 2005 and 2009 and, earlier in his career, held executive positions with Lehman Brothers and Chase Manhattan Bank, after starting as an economist with AMP Morgan Grenfell.

McFarlane said Gregg had “deep experience chairing consumer-focused companies, a strong track record of disciplined decision-making and contributions to board oversight of organisations undergoing technology transformation”.

Gregg will join Westpac’s board from November 7 before taking over as chairman on December 14.

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