Heritage Bank appoints former Billabong CIO to newly created role

Heritage Bank, Australia’s largest mutual bank, has appointed Wayne Marchant to a newly created chief information officer role.

The former Billabong CIO will serve in an interim capacity and takes responsibility for the bank’s IT operations from the former general manager, technology, Dunstin Lynch, who left the bank in July.

Marchant has previously held senior IT roles at Flight Centre and Woolworths, as well as leading a major revamp of the Department of Transport and Main Roads IT department while a consultant with the 451 Consulting group. He left Billabong in November last year.

The company said in a statement that Marchant would “help implement a revamped structure for the IT department and create a transformational blueprint moving forward”.

He will be based in Heritage’s Toowoomba head office. The company said it was not yet actively seeking a permanent CIO.

Heritage Bank CEO Peter Lock said Marchant brought a wealth of experience in large IT change management programs across a range of companies and listed corporations.

Heritage Bank today released its full year results for the 2015-16 financial year, reporting a pre-tax profit of $51.11 million, up 6.46 per cent on its $48.01 million FY15 results. After tax profit was $36.14 million.

“We will continue our program of investments in IT improvements to better position Heritage for the demands of the digital world we are now in,” the bank’s chairman Kerry Betros said in a statement. “This will enable us to continue to grow our loan book and our overall business.”