Craig Ryman named new Bank of Queensland tech-boss

Craig Ryman is the new chief information officer at Bank of Queensland (BOQ) and will begin work on July 14, the bank has confirmed.

Ryman has moved across from AMP where he had been group chief information officer for five-and-a-half years. His role was extended to include retail operations three years ago and then extended again to chief operating officer for the group.

Since January, BOQ’s chief technology and transformation officer, Robert Wilson, has been working in the interim with the bank’s chief executive officer, George Frazis on its digital transformation strategy. Wilson is staying put to help Ryman when he comes on board, a BOQ spokesperson told CIO Australia.

Wilson replaced former chief digital and information officer Donna-Marie Vinci in the interim role following her departure in December last year.

BOQ has been rebuilding its technology infrastructure which was previously referred to by its former chairman, Roger Davis as a “bowl of spaghetti.’ 

Earlier this year, Frazis said the 145-year-old bank’s core technology overhaul and the introduction of new mobile apps would be complete by the end of 2020 as part of a five-year digital strategy.

Last October, Davis told shareholders that the modernisation of the bank’s technology infrastructure – which has included shifting its data centres to a cloud-based environment – had progressed considerably.

“This will deliver benefits in the future as we have better capacity to scale up, reduce cost, implement change and partner with external providers to deliver better solutions for our customers,” Davis told shareholders at the time.